There are a lot of restaurants in Cobourg with a large concentration downtown. Today I walked along King street from Hibernia to Victoria Park and counted 18 restaurants although that did include some that would be better described as coffee shops. There are also at least another 6 nearby. Some are new and some are up for sale – a new addition is the Taste of Agra, an Indian restaurant which occupies the space formerly used by the Golden Chopsticks which moved a few doors along. I have listed them all below. The building housing the Matterhorn has now been listed for $899K with the statement that the restaurant is owner operated. I take this to mean that the current owner wants to sell the business as well as the building.
The Matterhorn building includes two apartments; they are each one bedroom plus a den and spread over two floors. One of them was recently offered for rent at $1325/month. The last time it changed hands was in 2014. The Matterhorn is not the only restaurant for sale since the Woodlawn is still up for sale at $2.55M. That is of course an Inn as well as an upscale restaurant. Although there had been rumours of its sale, the first time I saw a listing was in March 2018 (see Link below).
The new Indian Restaurant has caused a buzz – I’d guess it will be popular. They are now open from 4:00 pm for dinner but expect to have a grand opening next week and will then be open for lunch as well.
Another surprise – the building that houses a favourite meeting place and coffee house – 66 King East – is now on the market at $1,550,000, tenant occupied or vacant. If it were vacant, then Edward Cunnington would no doubt be retiring.
So here is my list:
| Mr. Sub | 110 King West |
| Pizza Pizza | 100 King West |
| Sakura Sushi (Japanese, Korean) | 96 King West |
| Matterhorn (Swiss, Canadian) | 95 King West |
| Golden Dragon (Chinese) | 92 King West |
| Rustic Bean (Coffee House) | 91 King West |
| Cobourg’s Coffee House (was the Human Bean) | 80 King West |
| El Camino | 74 King West |
| Subway | 73 King West |
| Buttermilk | 44 King West |
| Pat & Rob’s (Coffee House) | 32 King West |
| Golden Chopsticks (Japanese) | 26 King West |
| Taste of Agra (Indian) | 20 King West |
| Dutch Oven (Coffee House) | 7 King West |
| Black Cat (Coffee House) | 4 King West |
| Corfu (Greek) | 8 King East |
| Oasis | 31 King East |
| 66 King (Coffee House) | 66 King East |
Nearby but not on King Street are also (not a complete list):
| Kelly’s (Pub) | Third Street |
| Cat & Fiddle (Pub) | Covert Street |
| Ale House (Pub) | Division Street |
| Craft House (The building housing this and Ken’s Loft is still on the market at $1,050,000) | Division Street |
| Marca’s (Italian) | Division Street |
| Woodlawn | Division Street |
This report only includes Downtown, primarily King Street from Hibernia to Victoria Park. If you count all of Cobourg, there are a lot more. See the Town’s list in the link below. They have 83 listed although some are counted twice since they fit more than one category.
Links
- Matterhorn Restaurant re-opened – 18 May 2014
- Commercial Real Estate Update, March 2018
- Town of Cobourg Restaurant list
Did you know?
For Cobourg Entertainment Events Calendar go here. Includes a section – Next 30 events in Next 30 days.
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Congrats to our local business owners who bust their butt to make a living. I’m not ashamed to say I don’t think I could cut it. Kudo’s
I try to support you as much as my frugal posterior will allow!
I agree I have been self employed all of my life as has my ancestors in the area
Not Easy. and very long hours . Buit I make an effort to buy local every day
how ever more and more of my neighbours are shopping on line as evidenced by the steadily increasing stream of delivery trucks to our residential neighbourhood is continuously growing .
You know you can’t send a hot meal by UPS or Purolator Thats why we have all these restaurants !
Wow! A must visit place! Gotta check out those restaurants!!!
You missed George & Orange, a lovely little place.
G & O is located where please?
Division and University…
lol Only 4 vote downs? Come on people, we can get more than that!
George & Orange is the corner of George St & Orange 🍊 St ~ thus the cute name. Just so you can find it ~ it’s a fab place. We are lucky to have it in this town.
67 Orange St., corner of Orange and George St. (One block north of King St west running west off George St)
Portage and Main
GEEs thats alot of restaurants for a little town
when you add in the rest of the Restaurants we have that weren’t mentioned
Like the Swiss Chalet Pizza Hut , Pitchers Place , Arthurs at the Best Western
ETC, ETC
ITS A TOUGH GAME BUT ITS CASH Very long Hrs .
Every yr we see a few open and a few close — just after New yrs . Eve
Low employee wages nothing you could support a family on .
The woodlawn was listed in Toronto for nearly a yr now saw it a B& B magazine for Sale .
and yes this is where Marketing comes in But usually its paid for by the Business owners
NOT THE TAX PAYING CITIZENS of the Town
or their Reputations precede them and keep the People Coming
May be the Town Economic Development team could come up with some real Business and stores for King st
that would be a change .
“May be the Town Economic Development team could come up with some real Business and stores for King st”
How do you propose that they do that? Perhaps you could come up with some real idea(s) to suggest to them?
Wally, I think Perplexed has just insulted all the downtown business owners with that comment.
Employee wages not Owners very low in this industry
and if your GOOD at what you doo and offer Unique Product & Service people will keep coming from far and wide .
the word of mouth effect will win out ie. Don Owen & the Oasis was known far & wide as is Rhino’s in little old Bewdley
Come On Have you ever tried to suggest something to this Group ? They might work them selves out of a Job .
Well I guess I would try something that the Economic development office has obviously and deliberately ignored and it wouldn’t require any $$ , new jobs or independent study groups .
I have tried to get this info from Gibson’s office in the past and they say they don’t know and they don’t track it
I would start by interviewing all those small Business owners that have gone Under over the Past 10 yrs and determine why and what exactly contributed to their demise , ask some very pointed & direct questions not those pleasant socially correct questions and don’t massage the answers to make it Palatable There will be a lot of similarities and . I believe the answers will both Startle and shock a few of us and probably not be something we / the town wants to own up to or even want hear about or know how to deal with .
Once armed with the real facts and concerns we could make a honest effort at resolving these issues and assist / guide small business in garding against and preparing for these pit falls .
But what can we expect from people with No real life experience .
I’m as perplexed as you are perplexed. I once suggested exit interviews from those closing up shop in our downtown to see if we could learn anything but was soundly shot down by several right here on this board. There are at least one or two here that feel there is nothing they could learn BECAUSE THEY ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING!
” I once suggested exit interviews from those closing up shop in our downtown to see if we could learn anything”
What do you think could be learned that “could come up with some real Business and stores for King st”?
“ask some very pointed & direct questions not those pleasant socially correct questions”
So how are exit-answers going to “come up with some real Business and stores for King st”? Who is going to conduct these interrogations? How much time and expense will it take to conduct these interrogations. Who pays. How about some real answers?
Calm down Wally.
I think we already have an Economic Development team on board who could conduct these interviews (not interrogations). I don’t think they would take up very much time at all and would cost very little, if anything. A five minute sit down to hear the main facts.
perplexed did come up with a real answer/suggestion (the exit interview), and you have just proven both perplexed’s and my points…
• from perplexed: “Come On Have you ever tried to suggest something to this Group ?”
• from Frenchy: “There are at least one or two here that feel there is nothing they could learn BECAUSE THEY ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING!“
Ms Frenchy, please refrain from speculation. I remain calm. All I did was ask questions. I didn’t use exclamation points nor all-caps in my post unlike the hysterical who use all caps. Sheesh you’re touchy.
When perplexed said to ask some very pointed & direct questions not those pleasant socially correct questions, then that is an interrogation. perplexed does not want to ask pleasant question or questions in a pleasant manner. That is an interrogation.
(1) So how are exit-answers going to “come up with some real Business and stores for King st”?
You have omitted to answer question (1). You think there is a team, but you are not sure. Wishy washy.
(2) Who is going to conduct these interrogations?
Really, 5 minutes? How shallow. What kind of depth of information can be acquired from a 5 minute interrogation of pinted unpleasant questions as proposed by your buddy perplexed?
(3)How much time and expense will it take to conduct these interrogations. Who pays.
“would cost very little, if anything.”
What a wishy washy answer. The fact remains that you haven’t a clue.
When I ask questions that means I want to know the answer because I do not know the answer. Your unwarranted condescension of BECAUSE THEY ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING!“ is so childish and petty. Calm down Ms Frenchy, we don’t need any ALL-CAP BOLD SHOUTING here, just state your facts calmly, that’s all
I asked you this Ms Frenchy,
” I once suggested exit interviews from those closing up shop in our downtown to see if we could learn anything”
What do you think could be learned that “could come up with some real Business and stores for King st”?
Can’t answer?
Why are you framing your question (and trying to frame my answer) with “could come up with some real Business and stores for King st”?
I never made that statement.
I never claimed you did. I quoted your clone, perplexed. But you joined your hip to hers and I went with it. And I note that you avoided answering any questions — typical..
I’m pleased that you have calmed down and refrained from using those shouting bold all-caps to accuse others of behaving like you had done. See how calm and evenly I stated that?
Be careful with that “joined at the hip” meme. It’s really quite salacious. See the last paragraph of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” where the expression apparently originated:
“… in the spring a postcard came…Buenos Aires the best…Am joined at the hip with duhvine $enor…”.
Yeah!
And who needs all those fancy, schmancy, foreign restaurants downtown.
Next thing they all have TABLECLOTHS.
Why can’t we have Wendy’s, BurgerKing, A&W, McD’s, Boston Pizza, etc – all REAL businesses with REAL CANADIAN food downtown?
And then we don’t need all those TOURISTS.
Because the customers for those places don’t spend their time downtown, I suspect. Those are for the shopping centre/big box crowd looking for a quickie bite.
The Rustic Bean is a fully licensed cafe with in house made soups, salads, sandwiches, breakfast items and desserts.
I think the guy on our ‘local radio’ station once owned it?
The Rustic Bean has never been owned by anyone from a radio station. Teresa Berriman opened it brand new in May 2017. Hope this helps.
I admit I was also confusing “The Rustic Bean” with a certain other place across the street with a similar name, and the dreariest interior of any place I’ve been in since I can’t remember when.
Sorry. 🙁
I am not sure which establishment Dave Glover was involved with? He has a show on 89.7
Dave Glover was once the owner with his wife of the Human Bean. It was sold some years ago and is now called Cobourg’s Coffee House. He now volunteers at 89.7.
Now I know why this town spends so many dollars to get tourists to come here.
That Matterhorn restaurant listing does not say it is Owner Operated. It says keep Tenants or “owner operate” The Owner of the building is not the owner of the lovely Restaurant in the building. The owner of the Restaurant intends to stay ~ but there is a possibility of owner operating. Hope that helps.
Now I’m really confused!
What’s confusing ~ reread – the owner is the building rents the space to a restaurant owner…hope that helps. If they leave when their wish to, at end of lease terms for example, then the building owner (whoever buys it) can decide to also operate the restaurant. Hope that helps.
Related in a roundabout way but has anyone else noticed an explosion of vegan food at restaurants and grocery stores? l’ll admit I was a doubter but I had that vegan ice cream at the Market & Smor at the beach and damned if I could tell a difference if I hadn’t known.
I’m a vegan and happy that there are a few vegan choices, but we need a total vegan restaurant. If i dine out, I go to Peterborough now. Even Lindsay has a new vegan restaurant opening any day now.
The reason I went to the beach most days…the vegan ice cream at Market& Smor…made me forget about the crowds! Now I have no ice cream in my life…until they open their store soon!
The vegan ice cream thing had me thinking. Why isn’t all ice cream just vegan? It tastes just as good and no animal suffered in it’s making. Soooooo…shouldn’t it all just be like that?
I don’t think cows “suffer” when being milked. They rather enjoy it, seems to me.
They get killed when they can no longer produce milk.