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've 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:

	Trattoria Ti Timone – next to AMC, was downtown, all entrees & service are excellent, esp. osso buco, rack of lamb, fish
	Oliver’s, Lakeshore – always v. good
	Kori’s Roti, Speers & 4th Line – Kori has retired, order one category hotter now, still great stuff
	Big Smoke BBQ, Lakeshore & Bronte – great beer, potato salad, ribs can be overdone
	Bennies, on Kerr St. North – good for old-style burger or sandwich on a Saturday
	Stoney's, on Kerr St. South –  fantastic sandwiches & salads, great Brunch on Sunday
	Agabi, Lakeshore W. of Kerr – wow! Love those shwarmas, delicious! Avoid Fridays
	Thai Senses on Lakeshore Rd., E of Bronte – good hot curries – go to level 4; yummy starters
	Salad Thai, on Kerr – go for lunch, pure, simple dishes, curries are mild
	Niblicks, Upper Middle Road, and Coach and Four, Bronte – best pub food by far
	Avani – Brampton - Wow! - order the biryani, best Indian food
	Abbey Arms – 4th Line & N. Service Rd. for suicide wings, flatbread pizza, steak salad (but needs a reno)
	AMI Sushi – across from GO station – very good, seems authentic
	Speros Restrurant, Hopedale Mall – family bistro, solid food
	Thistle, Burlington – best fish & chips

Seafood:
Mermaids - on Kerr St. South - actually fresh, all good & friendly, seafood chowder on Fridays

Meats:
Florence on Speers – try biltong, ex. steaks

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

Tax Problems, Forensic Accounting:
Andy Gunarsons is the guy

Bookkeeeping:
Computechniques – Janice Tobia is rock solid

Business Accounting:
Steve Farnham is my C.A. – nuff said

Specialist 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; Joanna Ringrose for estate planning and after a long, painful search, I now use Marlon Roefe of Burlington for litigation.

Aesthetics:
Aesthetics in the Valley, Denise Ferri – my Office Manager has been enjoying Denise’s good services for many years

Glasses:
Next Optical, 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, 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

Natural Gas Services:
Halton Gas Services, Robert Challtems – responsive, reliable, reasonable

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

Snowblowers, etc.:
Cliff’s Lawn & Garden Equipment -  Morden Rd., just north of my office, old fashion shop

Interior House Painting:
Mike Piccoli – is neat and thorough, reasonable

Exterior House Painting:
Super Students Painting – good follow-thru & quality

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 – have used for many years, Dr. Geoff Beck really cares

Kitchen Reno:
Home Depot – We tried the locals, but ended up with Home Depot - 25% savings and very responsive

Pharmacist:
Total Health, Nottinghill Mall – Christine delivers excellent service

Drycleaners:
Spotless Cleaners, 3rd Line & Dundas – Sara is the one

Office Security:
HARP Security – it’s like having the police around the corner, waiting for your call; super conscientious

Pet Food, Etc.:
Pet Connection, 3rd Line & Upper Middle mall – knowledgeable service

Stationary:
Stopwatch Design – super service from Aaron