 |
Support Your Local Independent Businesses!
As a small business and
a consumer, I’m
constantly looking for reliable, quality suppliers for my office and
home. It’s a jungle out there, with lots of phony endorsements that are
really paid advertising, and conflicted referrals by those who get
something back for themselves if they bring you to their associate. So,
I thought I would offer some gratuitous recommendations on suppliers,
etc. that I have used with success. They may or may not be clients of
mine (most are not); none have asked to be included; none were asked for
permission or anything in return, nor was anything offered by them to
me; if I have a misadventure or disappointment with any of them, they’ll
be dropped from this listing. My criteria:
- good value for money
- integrity
- cheerful, attentive service when
needed
- reliability & consistency
- dealing well with mistakes – theirs or
mine
Here's Bucky’s
Best Bets (in Oakville, unless specified otherwise):
Restaurants:
 |
Fish Bones, Kerr St. – best Dungeness crab & oysters |
 |
Oliver’s, Lakeshore – always v. good; confirmed recently - I had medium rare caribou with a heavy wine reduction on top, v. g. |
 |
Kori’s Roti, Speers & 4th Line – killer rotis - I really mean killer
if hotter than “Medium” |
 |
Mixed Grill, Lakeshore Rd. W. - good value, bistro-style |
 |
Jimmy Heroes - Hwy 5 & Bronte - great pizza |
 |
Bennies - on Kerr St. North - is when we go for a nice lunch on
Saturday - burgers or sandwiches |
 |
Stoney's - on Kerr St. South - fantastic sandwiches & salads, great
Brunch on Sunday |
Seafood:
Mermaids - on Kerr St. South - actually fresh, all good & friendly
Stationary:
Stopwatch Productions – super service from Aaron
Car Repairs, Tires:
MTC Oakville, Speers Rd – Howard will take great care of your car; check
out deals on wheels, tires & go-fast equipment
Da Silva Racing, Scarberia – worth the drive
ISP, Web Designer & Hosting:
NETiNSTiNCT – Adam delivers; does a great Elvis too
Landlord:
CMC Developments – Claudio breaks the stereotype for landlords
Corporate Clerk:
McFaul Corporate Services – Best I've ever used
Bookkeeeping:
Computechniques – Janice Tobia is rock solid
Specialist Employment Expertise:
I bring in Jim Henderson, of the downtown employment boutique firm,
Kuretzky Vassos, when I need HR expertise on a file. He’s practical, not
outrageously expensive, and very responsive; I use Anthony de Fazekas of
Miller Thomson for IP for same reasons
Office Furniture:
Addmore, Eglinton & Dixie – great selection, will deal
Carpet, etc.:
Speers Road Broadloom, Speers Rd. – get Dale to work with you
Glasses:
Next Optical on Speers Rd., Bo is reasonable, good service.
Wood (nice & rare stuff):
Exotic Woods, Burlington – friendly, knowledgeable, wide selection
Garage Door Repair:
Garage Door Specialist – Tom practices old style workmanship; the brogue
is free! Wide-Sized Shoes:
 |
Miller’s Shoes – James St., skuzzy area of Hamilton – but great
selection of wide shoes, good quality |
 |
New Balance, 8th Line - for wide runners |
 |
Moores in Oakville has a small but good selection, plus good sales
guys who seem to know their products; got a super comfy pair of black
dress shoes there for well less than the price you normally pay for
special width shoes. |
Deal Tombstones, premium incentives:
Winged Foot Promotions – Layne delivers
Plumbing:
Abbey Plumbing – Scott is reasonable and reliable
Pub Food:
Niblicks, Upper Middle Road, and Coach and Four, Bronte - best pub food by
far
Steaks:
Brunos, Abbey Gate – tried them all, but meat here is better than ever from lowly
sirloin to prime strip loins
Computers:
Canadian Computers, Speers Rd. - new ownership has improved
everything
Pools:
Pioneer Pools, Oakville store – We played around with others, & went
back to them; not the cheapest but no surprises, good service; however,
prefer Total Tech for opening/closing
House Painting:
Mike Piccoli – used for the first time this fall, is neat and
thorough
Dog Grooming:
Debonair Dog, Kerr St. – reasonable and follows instructions; Mark
is a pretty good artist, too, but won’t sell anything yet
Vet:
Abbey Animal Hospital, Nottinghill Plaza – used for many years, Drs.
Jeff Beck and Scott Hobson; referred us to Dr. Norm Gofton at Veterinary
Emergency Clinic for ACL, super job
Kitchen Reno:
Home Depot – We tried the locals, but ended up with Home Depot - 25%
savings and very responsive |
 |