The Glass Jar Refillery

Vegans and lovers of sustainable living are going to be thrilled: a new shop that sells exclusively zero-waste products is opening very soon in Hamilton.

The Glass Jar Refillery is set to become the city’s one-stop shop for sustainable gifts and products, as well as a spot where you can fill up your own reusable containers with a wide variety of curated personal care and household products that are as earth-friendly as the containers housing them.

The shop, opening in Barton Village in the new year, will also have reusable containers available for purchase, that you can bring back again and again to get refills on your favourite products without a single scrap of single-use waste.

The Glass Jar is set to carry ethical, sustainable, plant-based products from a wide range of providers including Lunah Life, Birch Babe Naturals, Green and Frugal, Two Acre Farm, Earthology Food Wraps, Wild Craft, Niu Body, Two Sisters Naturals, and more.

Sustainable practices are on the rise, with increasing awareness of vegan eating and eco-friendly living becoming major driving forces in our culture. Local spots like The Glass Jar Refillery are responses to that cultural shift in ways that will be welcomed in Hamilton with open arms!

The Glass Jar Refillery is set to open this January at 335 Barton St. E, inside of Suru Studio. Check out their Instagram @theglassjar.refillery for updates.

Steeltown Smoke

While longstanding sports bar Wendel Clark’s has closed the doors of its Lister Block location on King William Street, a new restaurant is already preparing to take their place and set the local food scene ablaze.

That would be Hogtown Smoke, a popular Toronto fixture serving up Southern style barbeque dishes like pulled pork, smoked brisket, fried chicken, and much more.

To more closely tie the Toronto establishment to its forthcoming Hamilton location, the King William restaurant will be dubbed Steeltown Smoke and add itself to a Hammer-based BBQ scene that already includes Saltlick Smokehouse and the newly-opened Uncle Ray’s Food & Liquor just down the block.

The nitty-gritty details of Steeltown Smoke’s opening are yet to be unveiled, but Hogtown Smoke’s operating partner Glen Tymchuk expresses hopes that the restaurant will open in Hamilton around March 1st, 2020; or even earlier, if all goes smoothly.

While some locals may lament the loss of Wendel Clark’s, ward councillor Jason Farr believes the closure is a sign of changing times for King William’s burgeoning Restaurant Row.

“It was the odd one out. There are obvious themes happening on King William, and a sports bar isn’t necessarily meeting that theme,” Farr explains.

With this big and sudden change happening to that Lister Block restaurant space, here’s hoping Steeltown Smoke is the ideal fit for Restaurant Row and for Hamilton’s food scene as a whole.

MaiPai Tiki Bar

Offering hungry Hamiltonians year-round summery vibes with a unique, Hawaiian tiki aesthetic accompanied by a rum-stocked bar and pizza-stacked menu, MaiPai is promising a singular food & drink experience through their digs at 631 Barton Street East in the burgeoning east end of Hamilton.

Through the next few weeks of January, MaiPai will be running a $35 or $55 fixed price menu and offering seating by reservation only, so eager Hamilton foodies can get their first taste of the tiki bar’s forthcoming offerings in advance of an official grand opening.

While Hamilton has no shortage of particularly prime pizza options, MaiPai Tiki Bar will be doing something a little different with their menu by crafting Detroit-style pies: rectangular, thick ‘n delicious slabs of cheesy, greasy goodness. If noshing on some ‘za and sipping on some rum while surrounded by tiki-themed awesomeness doesn’t sound appealing to you, I guess that means we can’t be friends.

Many dates for the soft-opening seatings of MaiPai Tiki Bar are already filling up, so grab your reservations now and get your first glimpse of one of Hamilton’s most exciting new restaurants!

Reserve your table at MaiPai Tiki Bar by emailing salar@maipai.ca. Check MaiPai out on Instagram @maipaitiki for more details.

Brothers Grimm Bistro

If you’ve been walking along King Street East recently, you may have noticed a brand new, chic-yet-unassuming presence about to open up shop in the International Village.

That would be Brothers Grimm Bistro, a new high-end, Euro-style eatery and bar taking up residence in the former Sandbar Tavern space. Located at 193 King Street East, Brothers Grimm is set to be the cozy new neighbour of popular lunch spot 193 Bench Kitchen.

While many of the details of the new bistro remain an enticing mystery, Brothers Grimm is promising a “Belgian-style cellar bistro, serving Euro-fusion designed to complement our barrel-aged beers and VQA wines.”

By the sounds of it, this attractive new nightlife spot is aiming to blend old and new-world food and drink styles in its cozy King East quarters, in ways unlike anything Hamilton has seen before. A hard opening date has yet to be set, but the wait shouldn’t be long; Brothers Grimm’s social media indicates service beginning early 2020!

Rapscallion & Co.

Rapscallion, a spot which put emphasis on a playful nose-to-tail dining experience, and Two Black Sheep, an approachable hang-out for late-night charcuterie and cocktails by candlelight, each said goodbye to John Street South last year, setting their sights on something more sizeable.

They will be combining elements of both former restaurants in a new James North location as Rapscallion & Co. Matt Kershaw will be the chef there, so the food will be very ‘Rapscallion-y’, but is adding some classic favourites like steaks, seafood towers, and other fun things. The bar will also have classic cocktails and oysters, channelling the spirit from Two Black Sheep.

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• Brothers Grimm Bistro
• Eats
• food
• Hamilton
• HamOnt
• MaiPai Tiki Bar
• new restaurant
• openings
• Rapscallion & Co.
• Steeltown Smoke
• The Glass Jar Refillery