The two-storey wooden frame building at 40 Main Street North in Waterdown was built around 1915 when John Wesley Griffin moved his flour mill from Smokey Hollow to this location, later running the business with his son John Francis Griffin. Gas pumps and other automotive products were added later.
In a recent Waterdown Memories Facebook post, Jack Gallin commented on the photo below: “Note the White Rose gas pump. We hand pumped the upper tank full, then gravity fed it into the car. The glass upper tank showed the gallons used.”
The building was sold to Walter B. Job in 1960. Walter Job had a thriving Feed business in Aldershot started by his father in 1928, and he later branched out into broiler chickens. He sold Purina products, well known even today for their checkerboard design logo. His grand opening in Waterdown on April 30, 1960 offered free chicks to all children accompanied by a parent – a gift which may or may not have been appreciated! The business operated until about 1966.
In 1968 Ray Worrod moved his store from his home into this building. Ray’s Variety remained here until about 1975/76 when it moved next door into the building which was originally the post office and then Bantam Variety.
Waterdown Auto Parts opened here in October 1978. Owned and operated by Mike Humby, it offered full service auto parts, paint and parts for other equipment such as tractors, lawn mowers and snowmobiles.
Community Appliances moved in from about 1999 – 2004, sharing space with Tony’s Shoe Repair for some of that time.
Tony Marchese had opened Tony’s Shoe Repair with his brother Frank in the early 1970s, operating from several locations around the village and in 2001 Tony moved into 40 Main Street North. He was well known in Waterdown and was greatly mourned when he passed away in October 2016. The shop, which had been sold, shared the lower retail space with Shear Agony and later Mr. Classy Barbershop.
In August 2019, shoe repair equipment caught fire and severely damaged the building. Owner Vince Fantauzzi set up a temporary location at M & M Appliances in the Waterdown Shopping Centre for customers to retrieve their belongings although the shop never reopened.
Repairs and renovations took place in the fall of 2020 and the original checkerboard pattern and other signage could be clearly seen before the structure was wrapped and reclad. Today it houses Royal Leafs Cannabis Dispensary and was recenly listed for sale.
Except for a change in colour and some additional windows in the upper level, the building has remained essentially as it was originally built.
Lyn Lunsted is the Archivist at Flamborough Archives, which operates in the Waterdown Library at 163 Dundas St. East. For lots more local history, visit flamboroughhistory.com.
