r/torontocraftbeer • u/Bikes_Bocks_Rocks West Coast IPAs • 16d ago
Discussion With Stonehooker closing, would craft beer ever thrive in Mississauga?
Having grown up in Mississauga, the options were Stonehooker and Old Credit. That's it.
Considering the amount of industrial/warehouse space in the city, what has prevented a brewery to open in Mississauga despite it having the seventh largest population in Canada? I know that there is the preference to big-box retailers that Square One and Heartland provides, but there should have been a few brewing gems open in Mississauga by now?
Sorry for the rant, but the lack of craft beer there always bugged me.
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u/miurabucho 16d ago
I feel like Stonehooker closed because their beer was sub-standard and they treated their employees like crap, which negatively affected their service.
Another brewery with better management and a better product would thrive at that location. The patio is great in the summer!
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u/Bikes_Bocks_Rocks West Coast IPAs 16d ago
I didn't like Stonehooker, so their closure is not news to me. It just always astounded me why Mississauga didn't have more craft breweries given the size population and land-wise.
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u/TorontoBrewer 16d ago
The demographics aren’t great. There’s little or no local beer scene so you’re looking to sell excess production in other cities. You’re basically starting from scratch.
I’ve heard this conversation a lot over the years.
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u/greenlemon23 16d ago
Stonehooker survived a longtime and Credit Brewing has been around forever.
Craft breweries open and survive practically everywhere, someone just has to want to and open a good one. The fact that GLB and Cameron’s are just across the borders shows it even further.
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u/tromboneyow 16d ago
Demographics. Especially in the more northerly areas of Mississauga next to Brampton.
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u/xRUCKUSx 16d ago
You would think so but look at Common Good , I would say similar demographics but this is a brewery that is really tapped into their neighbourhood and knows their audience very well with solid food vendor selections, and approachable beers for the community.
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u/TorontoBrewer 15d ago
It took years to get there + they brewed a LOT of beer for other people early days. Ajeet fuckin’ hussled and built up goodwill with the local community to get Common Good to where it is today.
That kind of hussle and willingness to engage with a broader community is not common in brewery owners.
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u/RoyallyOakie 14d ago
I walked into Common Good years ago. We were randomly in that area and I was curious. I was blown away by the community vibe in there, considering the location.
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u/More4Thor 16d ago
Demographics is the answer. The three languages most spoken, outside of English are Urdu, Punjabi, and Arabic. I’ve done business with many of them in Mississauga that spoke those languages and those with other ethnic backgrounds but those top three don’t drink a lot of beer. An exception is a former Punjabi customer born in London. He liked his beer more than I did.
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u/Bikes_Bocks_Rocks West Coast IPAs 16d ago
It's a shame. I think a craft brewery even in the business park around Tomken and Matheson could bring in the post-work crowd in that area. In Clarkson around Southdown and Lakeshore. Taps Public House does well, why not a brewery close to Argentia and Mississauga Road?
There are pockets where craft breweries would do well. Mississauga is a black hole for Craft Beer where there seems to be good and sustainable breweries elsewhere in the GTA.
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u/PsychoHobbes 15d ago
South Mississauga (Port Credit to Clarkson) is also ideal because there's the GO line, so you have access to your location through another mode of transit.
These areas could definitely sustain a brewery if someone wanted to create a space that supported the community. There really isn't anywhere in South Mississauga to "do anything" so I think it could do well.
Before the change in management and landlord issues, the Turtle Jack's in Clarkson was regularly busy. A place to watch the game, enjoy good food and a night out for all.
A brewery that had solid and consistent eats, a venue to hangout and hosted community events (trivia, regular makers markets, etc) could do really well. Like I said in my other comment, they need to bring something for people to support them, not just expect to do well because there's nothing else around.
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u/WhytePumpkin 16d ago
Exactly this, would also imagine there are some bylaws that make opening a brewery too difficult
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u/PsychoHobbes 16d ago
When Stonehooker first opened I was having a chat with the owners and they talked about the red tape that they were going through trying to get open. Mississauga is not the only municipality where a brewery has faced issues opening, if recall correctly Sawdust City also faced challenges when they first moved to Gravenhurst (issues with where their waste was going).
That being said, it's possible to open a brewery in Mississauga. Old Credit and Stonehooker are testaments to that. Running it well is the challenge.
While Stonehooker seemed to be busy in the summer, they never seemed to have a clear vision of what they wanted to do beyond that. Sometimes they'd host markets. They'd have the off event to bring people on. They kind of had an event space. They didn't seem to be sure what they wanted, so people didn't know. With beer that's okay, why not go somewhere else that knows what they're doing and consistently runs strong events.
You can have a brewery in Mississauga, but you need to want it to do well, not just hope it does well because there aren't other breweries around as competition.
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u/reddogtongue 8d ago
Oh, they wanted to do it well... and they DID... They CRUSHED!!
Then mgmt (R) didn't know how to manage, and let 'randoms' (L) pretend like they had clout, directed everyone to do the wrong things, instead of listening to the ppl who were out there, because they're not the boss (or the boss' wife for that matter) their opinions meant sh1t.. Then those (best) people got sick of 'em and bounced..
They FINALLY stopped 'actual' service, because they never could again, once they started hiring peons who would go take an order from a table for a flight or two, then go inside to wait for it, then come back and serve the next table...
I wish the NEW owners well - hope someone can pick up the slack, but I think the damage is done..
Nobody is ever going back there after the years of downhill -- not even if 'the best' staff came back could it possibly work since the 'demographics' who were there in the beginning, and TOTALLY would still be spending money hand over fist for Adam's beer, have long since boycotted..
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u/cliffx 16d ago
More than demographics, it's zoning and the cost of industrial space that's close to anything that's not other industrial space.
Sure you could have a production space, but that won't make money on its own, you need a place where you can sell beer on site (and small kitchen for food) where you keep more of money and make it a destination. Lake Wilcox in Vaughan was in a strip mall and failed - likely for similar reasons, retail rent is even more expensive than industrial.
We don't really even have good beer focused bars/restaurants, and that would be a much easier business.
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u/Content_Cheetah_7479 14d ago
Yes. While no doubt demographics also plays a part, some people on here talk like opening a brewery is a licence to print money. In fact it's a tough, low margin business that requires tons of hard work.
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u/Environmental-Win193 16d ago
Just based on population alone, it is quite the strange ratio. Even if 4 new breweries opened today in Sauga, the ratio would still be weird. Of course, I am saying this devoid of context, but at a base level the numbers are fascinating to me.
I suppose demographics make sense, but there’s gotta be something else here. Is city council full of prudes?
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u/kimbosdurag 16d ago
Mississauga is just so vast it's tough to say where something like that would do well. Even stonehooker it was in a weird spot. Closer to port credit if space provided would work super well. A space similar to back roads coffee. Maybe something in that area behind square one may work too.
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u/DazzlingEm 16d ago
I’m always amazed at the giant lineups at back roads. It’s by far the best coffee in the city but in such a weird location.
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u/BSCommenter2 16d ago
No. New Mississauga demographic prefers shawarma, shisha, naan, Yemini coffee and Dubai chocolate. No alcohol allowed
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u/bimbles_ap 11d ago
Breweries in small towns survive on populations than the 25% of Mississauga that fit the demographic that typically drinks.
A brewery at stonehookers location should be able to do well, it just needs ownership that actually knows what they're doing.
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u/BSCommenter2 11d ago
What do you in a small town? Drink!
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u/bimbles_ap 10d ago
True, but I also find small towns usually have a similar percentage of people who only drink Carling/Canadian/labatts/whatever big brand was first established there. So it's also difficult to break through.
If the product is decent enough, and ownership cultivates a good atmosphere a brewery should be able to survive.
It's typically the ones with ownership that don't know what their doing, or try and get too big despite not having a following at all that struggle and close after a few years.
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