Thistle Bookshop and Café brings creature comforts of reading back to St. Catharines

As the pandemic continued from 2020 through 2021, people started turning to former creature comforts for a sense of normalcy. And one of those was curling up with a good book.

To that end, the recently-opened Thistle Bookshop and Café in the Port Dalhousie area of St. Catharines is a well-deserved return to the good old days, courtesy of owner Tracy Fattore and her family.

“We know you love books and we aim to get them into your hands as quickly as possible,” says their website. “We offer in store shopping, curb-side pick up or flat rate shipping and our current turn-around time is usually same day.”

The cozy store comes with, of course, not only walls and shelves of books – from best-sellers to local authors – but you can relax with a cup of coffee and a tasty pastry.

Looking for a specific book? “Our in store stock is available online. If there is a book you are looking for that we do not show as in stock, please email us at [email protected] or direct message us through our Instagram page @thistlebookshop and we will be happy to assist you.” In other word, if they don’t have it, they’ll get it.

Count St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik among their fans.

“The Thistle Bookshop and Café is a great bookstore featuring local authors, Canadian authors, unique, trendy books and they are very proud of their Scottish ancestry section,” he said enthusiastically. “The shop also has some great local artisan items, tasty pastries and coffee or tea to sip on while browsing the selection.”

Said Tracy, “We are excited to be your independent bookshop cafe in Port Dalhousie and look forward to providing you in store shopping for your favourite books and great beverages.”

The Thistle Bookshop and Café is located at 50 Lakeport Road #103, phone 905-935-5050.