Stores & Markets in Niagara Falls

Though the eponymous Johnny Tiranno no longer runs Johnny’s Meats, his legacy lives on in the specialty shop’s italian sausage recipes. Mike, Johnny’s stepson and the current owner, still makes the links and patties with his stepfather’s special blend of high-quality meat, imported cheeses, and spices, which first delighted palates in 1946. The meat supplier stocks more than sausages, however. The display cases also house juicy steaks, chicken cutlets, lamb, and seafood, mostly imported from the Midwest. For something to complement these high-quality meats, customers can browse assorted side dishes, such as twice-baked potatoes, verdant salads, and cheeses.

At 8 in the morning, early crowds arrive at Lancaster Market to browse the tables of more than 40 vendors selling locally grown produce, handmade gourmet foods, and organic meats. Some stop at Kornerstone Coffee for a steamy cup before they leisurely browse bundles of flowers, flats of vegetables, and trays of seasonal fruits. Others head directly to their favorite stands: Hens Honey Bee Farm, Chateau Buffalo winery, Hanzlian's Sausage. The smell of kettle corn and pancakes scents the air, tempting these die-hard shoppers to linger in the open-air market. Since the farmers' market is open most weekends in the summer and early fall, it serves as both a dependable drop-in shopping center and a town mingling place. Demonstrations, such as how to can strawberry-pineapple marmalade and how to butcher a raspberry, educate anyone who sticks around.

Inspired by the boutique markets of New York and France, Fresh & Wild's King and Spadina and Bloor West locations buzz with activity as customers browse produce, meat, and artisan goods sourced both locally and from across the globe. Within the King and Spadina store, a high-powered media system plays rock and blues as shoppers lasso tapenades and fresh tomatoes into carts. A modern café echoes Italy as it brews fair-trade coffees, leans slightly askew, and dishes out flaky pastries from local bakeries. The Bloor West location celebrates the bounty of nature by displaying vibrant green plants within indoor and outdoor cases.

Each morning at 4 a.m., the grocery's buyer arrives at a food terminal to acquire fresh items and potatoes, which he then uses to fuel his car back home. Additionally, Fresh & Wild employs a catering team that stack gourmet sandwiches and shake up organic salads until they plead for mercy.

Fresh City Farms aims to reconnect consumers with their surrounding soil. The team, formed of activists with such qualifications as a degree in environmental science and certificate in food security, focuses efforts on reforming the food system by supporting local farmers and microfarmers, holding education workshops, and managing a community supported agriculture (CSA) program. Driven by their dissatisfaction with industrial food systems and their harmful effects on the planet, they use only organic and sustainable agriculture techniques at their farms and gardens.

Though Fresh City Farms' home base is in Downsview Park, the organization also matches ambitious entrepreneurs, or Member Farmers, with pieces of land where they can cultivate whatever they wish. The team trains Member Farmers in organic farming technologies and lends them access to resources ranging from soil-testing services to rototillers.

Nonfarmers can also take part in the sustainable food movement by opting for Fresh City Farms' no-commitment and customizable CSA membership, which nets a weekly delivery of seasonal produce that's largely sourced from Fresh City's own plots or Southern Ontario farms. The box contains 80 per cent local produce on average and eschews food from far away out of respect for tomatoes' fear of airports.

According to Green Earth Organics, the term “certified organic” means “the food has been grown according to strict uniform standards which are verified by an independent state or private organization.” Therefore, as a delivery service that carries a selection of certified organic products, Green Earth Organics gets its inventory from farms and processing facilities that have been scrupulously inspected and tested. There are many reasons the staff at Green Earth says shoppers should go organic—from better flavor with no chemicals to protecting farm workers and a future generation. They make it easy for consumers to make the switch by supplying organic meats and produce, canned soups, and condiments. They fill small, medium, or large bins with such weekly produce as strawberries, green chard, mangoes, and russet potatoes. They also carry a selection of environmentally friendly products and organic toiletries.

Green Earth goes one step further in saving the earth by easing car-exhaust emissions by delivering groceries to the home or turtle shell. The service also reduces the use of plastic bags and saves customers the time spent finding a parking spot and waiting in line at the grocery store.