Woolwich Township and Village of St. Jacobs have seen rapid growth in last decade
Mayor Sandy Shantz would like to see a bypass in Elmira and Breslau in next decade
Downtown St. Jacobs has always been a popular spot for tourists, but the core and the township it resides in, have seen some big changes in the past 10 years.
Nick Benninger is chair of the St.Jacobs BIA and he remembers what it was like coming to area when he was younger and enjoying the baked apple pie from the former Stone Crock or walking along the Mill Race Trail.
"The clippity-clop esthetic of being here in the village is something that always sticks with people, especially visitors from afar, who don't get to experience that every day," Benninger told CBC KW's The Morning Edition.
Benninger is also the owner of The Fat Sparrow Group, which bought the former Stone Crock in 2018 and now operates The Charcuterie Bar.
He said what's contributed to the village's growth in the last decade has been the number of small, unique businesses that have set up shop along King Street.
"In the past we had a village that had singular ownership and that vision has formed what is St. Jacobs today and we are forever grateful for that foundation," he said.
"The newer, more independent businesses provide a wider diversity of offerings."
More backyard tourists in St. Jacobs
Benninger said he's also seen a change in the way people visit the village in the last decade. Before, most people would only visit the market or the village, but not both in the same day. Now, more people visit both and view it as a "collective whole," he said.
The village has also seen more local tourists stop by as a result of the businesses that have come in, including his own, he said, which was a vision they had from the beginning.
"As business owners, we all had that in mind when we were doing what we were doing, independently and collectively, but it's working," he said. "That backyard tourism is so important to this community."
St.Jacobs' history and proximity to the city of Waterloo while also to agriculture are some of the big reasons why Benninger thinks people keep coming back.
"We have public transit that brings folks out here for us and I think that alignment of stars is what really makes the village so special," he said.
"That you can take a trip up the road, but really transport yourself, not necessarily to another time, just a simpler way of life and it immediately slows you down."
Woolwich's growth and what they need
Woolwich Mayor Sandy Shantz, told The Morning Edition that the township has seen a lot growth and change in the last decade — areas like Breslau, for example.
"One thing I didn't realize, when I was elected back in 2014 ... was how quickly Breslau has grown and how diverse it was, and even in the last eight, nine years, has become," she said.
Shantz said areas like Breslau would benefit from having a downtown core to better serve its residents.
"They need some amenities that they don't have," she said. "We're trying to do walkable communities and so for Breslau to be a walkable community, they need a grocery store, they need a drug store," she said.
She hopes to see that vision become a reality in Breslau over the next decade, as well as improvements to traffic in the township. That includes a by-pass in Elmira to reduce a lot of the truck traffic that community.