The British Market offers baked goods, chocolate, crisps to Burlington

For nearly a year The British Market has been offering residents and visitors of Burlington the opportunity to be transported across the Atlantic Ocean.

With over 100 different varieties of potato chips, or crisps as they’re known in the United Kingdom, the store at 2465 Mount Forest Dr. at Guelph Line is a one-stop-shop for British goods.

Manager Steve Wilkinson opened the store in April 2023 after finding it difficult to get the items he wanted.

“I was using a lot of the other stores and they didn't always have what I wanted, so I thought, ‘I'm just gonna import it myself,’” Wilkinson said.

The last year has been successful for The British Market with the community quickly getting on board with the idea once they realized the shop was there.

“It was tough getting people to find out that we were here,” Wilkinson said. “We find that once people come, they come back. So, first Christmas was great and lots of new people found us, and then we've seen them again in January, February.”

One of the biggest reasons Wilkinson believes customers come back is because of the number of items The British Market offers. 

“People love it. They like that we've got a big range. When we're baking as well, they love the baked goods,” he said.

The British Market features between 1,200 and 1,500 different items depending on shipments, which includes several varieties of chocolate, biscuits and other snacks from the United Kingdom as well as other grocery items and some bakery options.

“We have drinks like lemonade because it’s different in the U.K. than what it is here. That's one of our more popular ones. Then we've got the cordial drinks as well, orange juice or black currant, where you mix it with water so it turns from one litre bottle into like several,” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson immigrated to Canada from England in 2005 and missed the way chocolate tastes in his home country.

“I could give you a Canadian chocolate bar and a U.K. chocolate bar and you'd be able to tell the difference. The Canadian ones are a lot softer and it doesn't have the snap to it as the British ones do.So, that's why everyone comes here for the British chocolate,” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson will be installing a kitchen inside the store so baking will be done onsite. The store currently offers freshly baked goods depending on demand, with a focus on pasties and sausage rolls.

Wilkinson is also planning to open a small tea shop with the addition of a couple booths for seating options.

“I’d be doing it mostly for takeout. It would be a picnic kit so people can come and pick up an afternoon kit and take it home,” he said.

The British Market doesn’t have its liquor license but regularly stocks Guinness 0, the non-alcoholic version of the classic Irish stout.

For more information, find The British Market on Facebook or Instagram.