C M Y Go 4 THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2010 thespec.com On Sale This Week... ¤ 1039 Wilson St. E., Ancaster 905-648-2157, 905-528-6673 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK - Mon-Fri 9am-8pm, Sat & Sun 9am-6pm • Sale Prices in effect JUNE 10 TO JUNE 16, while supplies last. www.harpersgardencentre.com Visit our Website for Monthly Gardening Tips & Ideas. Harper’s Greenest Deal of the Week! Great Father’s Day Gift! Great Father’s Day Gift! Attention Pesto Lovers: Full Trays of Basil Only $30 (18 Pots Per Tray) HOSTA “PRAYING HANDS“ 6” POT Sale... OUTDOOR CARE FREE CARPETS SUNFLOWERS $ 4 49 ASTILBE - ASTILBE - 2 GAL POTS 2 GAL POTS This Week... Beautiful Accent Plant! Ideal for your porch, pool, patio and deck. 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COLEUS - 4” POT Reg. $3.19.............................SALE $2.29 ROSEMARY - 6” POT Reg. $7.99.............................SALE $4.49 HOSTA “ELVIS LIVES” - 6” POT Special Price...............$9.99 Excellent specimen plant Reg. $4.99.......SALE $2.99 BUTTERFLY FLOWER Now.................... 50% OFF .15¢/LB OVER 1000 LBS Reg. $49.99/yd...SALE $39.99/yd R001719855 LOCAL PEOPLE Dan Kislenko, [email protected] This was Susie’s place, a skinny periwinkle-tiled diner on James North that had been closed for decades. Shizue (Susie) Toyosaki was there all that time, sitting in the back, beyond the booths and long counter, watching the street go by. Husband Tom died 25 years ago and Susie stayed on, watering her plants in the front window, feed- ing her pigeons out on the side- walk. She had no children. Last Thanksgiving, people on the street realized they hadn’t seen Susie for a while. The police found her inside. Her ashes were sent home to Japan. Tonight, being the second Friday of the month, is the James North Art Crawl. The street will be packed. And tonight, life returns to Susie’s, with the official opening of the new quar- ters of the White Elephant. “We hope Susie would like what we’ve done,” says Jane LaBatte. She and friend Hol- lie Pocsai run this shop. It is not a diner. It is a place where you can find all things vintage. A globe bank from the 1930s. A biscuit tin from old London. A Centennial flag. Kathie Winkle dishes. Plus hand- made jewellery, scarves, bags, and Pigott-building wallets. And now, vintage clothing too. Jane, 27, and Hollie, 26, met in Grade 9 math class at St. Mary’s. Fractions weren’t their strong suit, but they aced on stage. To- gether they directed a high school play that brought home a prize at the Sears Drama Festival. So they knew they could work together. They also knew they were both collectors out of con- trol, going to flea markets every- where. Maybe, they decided, we could sell this stuff on the Web. Fortu- nately, Hollie’s husband is a skilled graphic designer. They pay him in old comics. On day one they were shocked to sell 45 items, china owls and other ’60s treasures. That night they had to run around to the liquor stores for shipping boxes. That was the fall of 2007. A year later they added a store to the mix. The Web is fine, Jane says, “but it’s a lot more rewarding to be able to display things and actually meet the customers.” “And we knew it had to be on James Street North,” Hollie says. “Everyone shares the same vision down here.” They located just south of Can- non, beside the Mixed Media art shop. And now they have moved right across the street into Susie’s place. It’s only 12 feet wide, but it’s deep, so there’s triple the space. Neither woman has surrendered her day job yet. Hollie is a “digital asset co-ordinator” with Astral Media in Toronto. She’s at the store each day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., then charges off to the GO bus for a three to 11 shift. Jane is a travel counsellor at Tourism Hamilton from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., then jogs up James to the store. It will be open late tonight for Art Crawl, with a Hootenanny fea- turing Fiddling Katie and Stoney. Somebody’s bound to ask about one item on the floor, a large brown-leather suitcase. It’s not for sale. The tag tells the story. That weathered piece of luggage belonged to Susie. In the space across the street va- cated by White Elephant, Jeremiah Boyter has a soft opening tonight. He had a shop in Montreal, but is coming home. His place features “mid-century modern” design, that sleek Scandinavian and Canadian teak popular in ’50s. On the same block, crews are now working on the restoration of the former Dominion Fur- niture building. One of the in- vestors in that big project is Tim Potocic. “We’re totally committed to seeing that the momentum on James North does- n’t die,” he says. Thirteen years ago, he and part- ner Mark Milne — owners of Sonic Unyon Records — made their first purchase in the neighbourhood, the building on Wilson Street that housed Sam Manson sports. They got it cheap, made it work. Now it houses a recording studio, art studio, film company, clothing designer. And early this year they and a couple of other partners bought Susie’s building. They paid just $122,000, but it was in rough shape. They’re now turning the floor above White Elephant into a live-work space. They are sorry Susie’s could not be a diner again. There would have been just too much work and money required. But they’re happy about the My Dog Joe cafe, opening just up the street this summer. Patrons there will enjoy the comfort of genuine-Naugahyde booths imported directly from Susie’s shrine. StreetBeat appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday [email protected] 905-526-3241 GARY YOKOYAMA, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR Long ago, it was Suzie’s diner, now it’s the White Elephant. Hollie Pocsai, left, and Jane LaBatte sell vintage stuff from the ’50s and ’60s at their James Street North store. New life, vintage stock on James St. N. PAUL WILSON’S STREETBEAT ‘We knew it had to be on James Street North. Everyone shares the same vision down here.’ — Hollie Pocsai