Woodworkers, gardeners rejoice: Lee Valley Tools opens doors in Vaughan

YorkRegion.com
April 2, 2014
By Adam Martin-Robbins

For many woodworking aficionados and gardening buffs, Lee Valley Tools is like a second home or, at the very least, a favourite spot to hang out.

Now Vaughan residents who are fans of the family-owned business no longer have to travel south to Toronto to shop for unique items you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.

The company, best known for its vast array of woodworking tools and gardening implements, is opening a new store April 7 at 167 Chrislea Rd., in the Weston Road and Hwy. 7 area.

It will replace the Toronto West store, at 5701 Steeles Ave. West, which is permanently shutting its doors Friday after 32 years.  

“We wanted a more high-traffic location in an area that provided better exposure, in an area where people are going to notice us,” said J.J. Hochrein, Lee Valley’s vice-president of marketing.

The 21,000-square-foot store, which will employ 30 people, will also give Lee Valley a chance to test different approaches to displaying products and helping shoppers navigate its stores, he said.

Several special events are planned to celebrate the opening of the Vaughan store in the coming weeks, kicking off with free presentations April 11 by Chris Schwarz, author and former editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine, and Megan Fitzpatrick, current editor and content director of Popular Woodworking Magazine.

“We have 15 stores across the country and this is just something new. We need to continue to appeal to new customers and this is part of it,” Mr. Hochrein said of the new location. “Once you kind of open the pages of Lee Valley a little bit, there’s this big discovery. And that’s the great thing about Lee Valley, those who know us love us, but there’s a lot of people out there who don’t know us and we need more people to discover us. We have a lot to offer, a lot of unique products and solutions.”