Almost nothing we carry defines us more clearly than the books in our bags: tactile objects filled with ideas and stories – testimonies to time well spent. They tag along with us, mark our days, and shape the rhythm of how we move through the world. In Uptown Waterloo, three long-standing independent bookstores – Carry-On Comics & Books (46 years young), Words Worth Books (42 years), and Old Goat Books (25 years) – offer distinct ways to build this bracket of everyday carry: a nostalgia-driven comic haven built for the thrill of discovery, a curated literary hub grounded in conversation, and a densely-packed used bookstore where the search is part of the reward. Together, these enduring fixtures map a reading life – charting not just what we read, but how we come to find it.
You don't need to board a train to Toronto, or take a flight abroad, if you're in search of metropolitan flair. Uptown Waterloo has quietly become a neighbourhood with energy, design, and culture that has demonstrated that it can punch above its weight.
These days a great coffee shop doesn't depend on beans alone. Atmosphere, aesthetics, and a certain ineffable charm matter just as much as a flawless flat white. Across Morriston, Guelph, and Kitchener-Waterloo, a trio of newcomers is proving the point with spaces that feel as thoughtfully devised as the coffee itself: moody, atmospheric, and confidently unique.
This past May, TOQUE partnered with Kitchener's Kultiq Studio & Gallery for 'Birds of a Feather' – a vibrant, month-long pop-up art show in a stunning sunlit space at King and Water Streets in DTK.
‘It’s five o’clock somewhere,’ I chuckle, raising a dram of amber liquid to my lips. The spirit — peaty, smoky, divine — slides down with ease. I glance at the label: Lagavulin Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, aged sixteen years.
‘I think I see Toronto already,’ TOQUE Partner Cai Sepulis exclaims from across the aisle of the twin-engined Piper Panther we boarded only minutes before. I can just make out what Cai is saying above the friendly drone of the small plane’s propellers – tucked beneath the wings just outside our windows. ‘That’s incredible,’ I remark, checking my phone for the time. 7:55am. Which means that it’s been only ten minutes since we took off from the Region of Waterloo International Airport. And that we will be on the ground again – at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport – in about another ten. On this – our inaugural FlyGTA flight into the big city.
Time to get shooting, I think to myself.
The region is in good hands, I cannot help but think to myself as I listen intently to Jason Martin and Patrick Simmons – the ‘Martin’ and ‘Simmons’ of Kitchener’s storied MartinSimmons Architects – espouse what it means for them to ‘do architecture’ across Waterloo Region and (increasingly) Wellington County.
As I pull into the small gravel parking lot that marks the trailhead of Waterloo Region’s famed Hydrocut, I note that Brent Ellis and Joanne Beattie have already arrived. Local cycling legend Andy Cox has yet to appear.
‘Hey Nick,’ I mumble through a mouthful of cheeseburger, ‘you wanna know what nostalgia smells like?’ Nick Benninger, Chef-Owner of the Harmony Lunch and Fat Sparrow Group, looks up from his plate – a quizzical expression on his face. ‘This place,’ I note emphatically, motioning to the space around us.
‘It’s been an absolutely insane ride,’ remarks Tony Theodosiou over pints of Buggywhip IPA at ABE ERB in The Tannery. ‘But one that’s been as invigorating as it’s been exhausting.’
Travel tends to sharpen taste. It introduces new ideas, uncovers unforeseen obsessions, and offers the occasional epiphany – nudging your sense of beauty and your grasp of craftsmanship in new directions. For Ryan LeClair, founder of Makoto Watch Company out of London, Ontario, it was travel – and specifically a trip to Japan – that transformed his infatuation with watch collecting into his initiation of a brand built on craft, restraint, and everyday practicality.
Almost nothing we carry defines us more clearly than the books in our bags: tactile objects filled with ideas and stories – testimonies to time well spent. They tag along with us, mark our days, and shape the rhythm of how we move through the world. In Uptown Waterloo, three long-standing independent bookstores – Carry-On Comics & Books (46 years young), Words Worth Books (42 years), and Old Goat Books (25 years) – offer distinct ways to build this bracket of everyday carry: a nostalgia-driven comic haven built for the thrill of discovery, a curated literary hub grounded in conversation, and a densely-packed used bookstore where the search is part of the reward. Together, these enduring fixtures map a reading life – charting not just what we read, but how we come to find it.
In my line of work – as writer, photographer, editor, regional explorer – EDC isn't a trend. It's infrastructure. Most days I'm in motion: tracing backroads toward a brewhouse, mapping my way to an artist's studio, or sliding into the corner of a coffee shop where I turn field notes into final copy and RAW files into photographs that will pop on paper. My office is wherever I set my bag down. My tools make it possible.
Stratford – and, by extension, Perth County – lends itself to takeaway. A coffee to carry, a sandwich in hand, something sweet tucked alongside – then out into the streets for window shopping, into the theatres for a performance, or down to the riverbank for a nosh.
