Part 2: Lighting Up the Laneway: How Gibson & Company Reimagined a Downtown Space
Anderson, who grew up in the Collingwood area, says the idea grew out of a gap he kept noticing: nowhere in town could you have a bottle of quality wine without feeling like you had to sit down for a full restaurant meal. “We want to be a place where you can go to buy what you need — whether it’s coffee during the day, or beer, wine, and whiskey at night,” Grieve adds. The pair cite Boxcar Social in Toronto as a key point of inspiration for the concept.
The café sits at the end of a narrow alley just off Hurontario Street, in the heart of downtown Collingwood. Grieve and Anderson found the space — formerly a kids’ dance studio — on Kijiji in 2017 and signed the lease a few months later. They haven’t looked back since.
Today, Gibson & Co. has become a hub where people go to build and maintain social connections. Anderson notes that the pandemic shifted their customer base: with more people working remotely, more of them are choosing to spend their workdays in cafés rather than at home, and Gibson & Co. has become a go-to spot for that kind of casual, welcoming hospitality.
Grieve and Anderson point to Europe as the inspiration behind activating the laneway beside their business. It started with a string of Edison lights hung up early on, which have stayed ever since. “The activated laneways are one of the most recognizable features of downtown Collingwood on social media. The laneways have become a hugely popular geotag that people recognize easily,” Anderson says.
Asked what advice they’d give other businesses considering their own laneways, Grieve says it’s worth the risk: improvements that open up pedestrian access tend to pay off in connectivity and pedestrian traffic. For businesses able to activate their rear entrance, the upside can be significant — better parking access and an improved customer experience overall. He adds that businesses with larger footprints and laneway access might even consider splitting their space with another tenant, which can lower rent while drawing more foot traffic for both. “From our perspective, we consider everything we can do to enhance the customer experience — whether it’s laneways, parking lots, or access to more businesses in the downtown area,” Grieve says.
Gibson & Co. pours award-winning coffee and espresso from Pilot Roasters, alongside a daily rotation of baked goods from local partners. The drink menu includes beer from a curated list of Ontario breweries, rare North American whiskeys by the pour or in a cocktail, and more than 160 natural, organic, and biodynamic wines available by the glass or bottle. Food-wise, the café offers light fare, shared plates, and a lunch menu.
Since opening, Gibson & Co. has built its offerings around partnerships with other local businesses — a way of elevating the experience without losing the casual, friendly feel that defines the space. “From our experience, Collingwood has a very supportive network of local businesses who are willing to help each other out,” Grieve says.
Backed by the Community
Gibson & Co. consulted with Community Futures South Georgian Bay in its early days, and last year was selected for the My Main Street Business Sustainability initiative — a program that supports small businesses and community projects on main streets across Canada. That support helped fund upgrades to key equipment, allowing the café to maintain the consistency its coffee program is known for.
Now in its tenth year, Gibson & Co. has become a fixture for locals and a favorite stop for visitors to Collingwood. “At this point, we’ve climbed the steepest learning curves of our business,” Anderson says, “but we still try to find ways to improve and make adjustments.”
Photos by: Dave West Photography
