If you’re looking for a photogenic destination for a holiday road trip, why not follow the lead of many movie crews and head to Almonte?
The small town on the Mississippi River, about 50 kilometres southwest of downtown Ottawa, has played the role of Anytown U.S.A. in so many Christmas rom-coms that the town council approved a film policy in 2021.
These days, renting out their homes and businesses for “meet cute” scenes is a source of extra cash for many locals.
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uOttawa Professor Guy-Vincent Jourdan says he initially never would have guessed a year ago he’d be concocting simulated social media feeds and made-up news broadcasts. But that was before becoming
Ontario SMEs gain access to cutting-edge cybersecurity training
uOttawa Professor Guy-Vincent Jourdan says he initially never would have guessed a year ago he’d be concocting simulated social media feeds and made-up news broadcasts. But that was before becoming
Scott and Heather Campbell, who moved from Ottawa to Almonte with their kids at the beginning of the pandemic, are among them. The family’s 1830s stone house has served as a movie set, as has The Sterling restaurant (28 Mill St.), which they opened in 2022 with Scott’s cousin, Alexandra Campbell.
Scott’s day job at Ottawa’s Gillin Engineering and Construction has given him an eye for real estate. When he spotted an 1883 building for sale in downtown Almonte, he thought it would make a great restaurant location. A similar heritage building in downtown Ottawa would have been out of reach, he notes. “The affordability is significantly different,” he says.
The Sterling is just one in a long line of Almonte startups. Back in 1998, local entrepreneurs Craig and Amber Hall launched fair-trade Equator Coffee Roasters. In 2019, it attained a B Corp certification, attesting to its high social and environmental standards. Equator’s coffee shop on Almonte’s eastern edge (451 Ottawa St.) is a pleasant place to start your day trip.
Across the road from Equator is another ethical-sourcing operation, Hummingbird Chocolate (476 Ottawa St.). In 2016, just four years after Erica and Drew Gilmour started it, Hummingbird took home six awards in an international chocolate competition. And six years later, it opened its 10,000-square-foot factory, shop and cafe. Plan ahead if you want to join one of the popular 45-minute tours on Saturdays.
A two-minute drive from Hummingbird brings you to yet another Almonte success story. Omid McDonald opened Dairy Distillery (34 Industrial Dr.) in 2018 to make vodka from dairy byproducts. The company has since expanded its range to include lactose-free cream liqueurs. Its Almonte shop offers tastings and you can take a half-hour distillery tour on weekends.
Leave time during your Almonte visit to meander through the shops lining picturesque Mill Street. Drop by Dragonfly Boutique (102 Mill St.) for clothing and decor, Cheerfully Made (72 Mill St.) for items by local artisans, and L.G. Lee and Sons (36 Mill St.) — run by the folks from Lee Valley Tools — for clever gadgets and hardware.
And if you’d like to learn about Almonte’s 19th-century industrial roots, don’t miss the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum (3 Rosamond St. E.).
You’ll probably work up an appetite with all of this touring. As well as checking out The Sterling, you could nosh on sweet and savoury crepes at Mill Street Crepe Company (14 Mill St.) or stop by Baker Bob’s (75 Little Bridge St.) for pastries and sandwiches. Fans of Italian fare can choose from two restaurants in heritage buildings: Café Postino in the town’s one-time post office (73 Mill St.) and Joe’s Italian Kitchen in a Victorian mill building overlooking the Mississippi River (7 Mill St.).
“The town gets a lot of attention because it’s the very definition of ‘cute and quaint,’” says The Sterling’s Scott Campbell, adding that his family quickly fell for Almonte’s deeper charms soon after moving there. As he explains, “The sense of community was unlike anything we’d experienced in Ottawa.”
Award-winning Ottawa travel writer Laura Byrne Paquet shares her sightseeing tips for Eastern Ontario and beyond on her website, Ottawa Road Trips.
