15/07/2025
One of the best small towns in SW Ontario
From the Windsor Star website. What do you think?
It started with a simple little smalltown bookshop.
When Richard Peddie retired as president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, he and his wife Colleen left Toronto for a slower pace of living in the Town of Amherstburg.
Managing a professional basketball team had been his dream â one he fulfilled at the helm of the Toronto Raptors. In retirement, however, he has stumbled upon a new passion: championing the historic riverfront town located in Canadaâs deep south at the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County.
âI donât understand passive retirement,â Peddie told the Windsor Star while sitting in Art Alley. A once-lacklustre lane he helped transform with vibrant murals, itâs now a physical anchor of the townâs growing art scene and regular art crawls.
Before moving here, Peddie was familiar with the historic town, as a former Windsor resident and University of Windsor graduate.
âFortunately, weâre financially okay, so we can put our money where our mouth is. But I think anyone can become a champion. Get involved, run for town council, support the library. Be a YIMBY â yes in my backyard â not a NIMBY.â
Five years ago, the couple purchased and restored an 1885 heritage building on Richmond Street, which became the townâs independent bookstore, River Bookshop.
More businesses followed less than a year later: White Woods Home, a kitchenware store; and Evelynâs, a candy shop. Then came The Panetteria bakery and then an elevated cocktail bar above the bookstore called Hole in the Wall.
âWe committed to bringing in businesses that didnât exist in town,â Peddie explains.
The couple launched Black Dog Entertainment, which continued investing millions into Amherstburg over the years. He muses on this approach in his recent book, Great Small Towns of Ontario, as being essential to placemaking and building livable communities.
âGreat towns cost money,â Peddie wrote. âA town has to invest â they canât cut themselves to the top.â
It wasnât long before other changemakers followed.
Other new businesses began opening in Amherstburgâs historic core, including Hotel STRY, a boutique hotel with a trendy bar and restaurant called âThe Oâ on the main floor.
Beavertails; Bucket List Coffee Roastery; a gourmet popcorn shop; and Pepper Cat restaurant soon joined the mix. These businesses complemented longstanding local spots like Caffeine & Company and The Salty Dog.
âIt was just boom, boom, boom,â said Peddie.
âNow, traffic is up, and weâve got a bookstore that actually makes money. All of our businesses are viable.â
The kitchenware shop will soon relocate from its current 450-square-foot space to a larger 2,500-square-foot location across the street, said Peddie. A new retail concept is in the works for the vacated smaller storefront.
Foot traffic has increased. Peddie said the townâs 2020 decision to launch Amherstburg Open Air Weekends, a summer initiative that closes streets to vehicles, has further encouraged a pedestrian-friendly downtown.
While some business owners have raised concerns about reduced vehicle access, Peddie maintains that walkability is essential to building a thriving town.
Itâs a theme he frequently returns to in his book, where he profiles nine other communities across the province, including Goderich, Elora, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Hope, Cobourg, Picton, Perth, and Almonte.
Peddie points to other strategies, like improving streetscapes, adding protected cycling lanes, supporting the arts, and protecting heritage. Tourism, according to Peddie, is important for small townâs to thrive economically.
âWe had Allied Chemical, we had Boblo Island â we lost those,â said Peddie.
âWhen you read the book, youâll see what those small towns lost. Now, theyâd all like to get some of that back. The thing is tourism.â
Peddie has funded many of the murals in Art Alley, partnered with Art-Windsor Essex to launch a âLook Again! Outsideâ display series, which places framed reproductions of artworks on streets. He also collaborates with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra to bring live music downriver in downtown Amherstburg.
He believes the townâs rich Black and Indigenous history make it an important destination.
Amherstburg was once a key entry point for freedom seekers escaping slavery via the Underground Railroad, and it sits on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe peoples. In 1796, Fort Malden was established, and has since been designated a National Historic Site.
The Peddies are being recognized for their work.
In 2021, they received the Peter Stokes Restoration Award for their restoration of the 1885 building. In 2025, their role in revitalizing downtown Amherstburg was recognized with a win at the Windsor Business Excellence Awards.
Accolades aside, Peddie said their work is not done yet.
Looking ahead, he sees potential for a second boutique hotel and envisions Amherstburg becoming a cycling destination. He has proposed repurposing low-traffic streets for âthird places.â
âThe town is healthy, itâs really healthy,â said Peddie. âI think itâs the hottest community in Essex County.â
Article content
Editorâs note: We love where we live, and through the summer the Windsor Star and Postmedia News are running a series of stories that highlight what makes our local communities unique and special within Canada. Part 1 shines a spotlight on a hometown hero in our latest âHow Canada Winsâ national series.
