Life is often unpredictable — and the same can be said for business too.
If you’re here and maybe a little nervous about where we may be headed, let us skip all the way to the good news first — we have a new building fully secured, and we’re not going too far away from our old location!
This move comes with a dizzying story worth sharing, so keep reading if you’d like to know exactly where Lovebee is going and when! Okay — if you really just want the details so you know where to get your Lovebee favs in the future, skip to the bottom.
A Little Blindsided
This story begins in the Summer of 2024, when we were shocked with the news that our building would be going for sale. The shock wasn’t so much from the sale itself, but was from the timing of the sale.
We were under the impression that the building owner would be looking to hold onto the property as a long-term investment. That was in fact the plan we believe, but unfortunately things didn’t work out as imagined.
We understand it wasn’t personal of course, things like this just happen in business, but that didn’t make us any less blindsided.
Worse for us perhaps, our lease would be expiring soon, which meant we would likely enter into a monthly agreement while the building was on the market.
Three Outcomes
One thing that was certain, was that there could only be three outcomes to our building going for sale:
One, the building sold to another investor who simply wanted to collect rent from us. This is what we were hoping for, as we had no plans of trying to leave the building or area. From the title of course, you already know that this was not the outcome.
The second outcome was the building took a very long time to sell or didn’t sell at all. Selling a commercial building can be a tough and very long process sometimes, so this wasn’t out of the cards so to speak.
Lastly, the third (and what we believed to be the least likely option), was that another business wanted our building for themselves and would move into the space. Without getting ahead of ourselves, this is exactly what happened, and was definitely a miscalculation on our part (we honestly did not believe this would happen).
Uncertainty Is Bad For Business (and business owners)
For multiple reasons, this type of uncertainty does not make you feel good as a business owner / operator. Firstly, you put any plans for upgrades and renovations on hold. If the building sells and you move out, the improvements you’ve made stay and so does the money you’ve invested.
Secondly, it’s really difficult to plan for the future (and if you know us, we are always planning for the future).
Thirdly, daily business life can become a little miserable. When you don’t know if you’re staying or you’re going for months on end (which was the case), you start to feel in a perpetual type of limbo. Needless to say, many decisions had to be put on hold, and it was deeply frustrating.
As soon as you know that you are staying or going — great, you can make lots of decisions to move forward. Until you know however, you can only begin to plan a certain number of contingencies.
Lastly, there is the “trying to keep it a secret” part. There are a few reasons you’d want to do this from the perspective of a business, however this didn’t last long.
As soon as the building hit the online market our entire street knew that we may be in for a bumpy ride. I will say, it was quite funny telling each business the same story about the building going for sale. Most would act like they didn’t know the news — but their body language revealed they clearly already knew. It’s all good of course, everyone is curious, but we didn’t yet have answers for the curious minds.
Falling For The Pause
For some months there was a pause in activity that (wrongfully) reinforced our idea that we had lots of time. The market seemed slow, not too many people seemed interested, and we thought we could potentially have another year or more without issue!
Then it happened — and when it did, it happened very fast.
In August of 2025, after slightly more than a year in wait to discover our fate as it were, we received the news that our building was sold — and that we now had two months to be out.
Trying to sleep that night wasn’t fun. It wasn’t that the news stirred anxiety from the unknowns, but the sudden and heavy weight of the logistical reality of moving came fast and hard.
We actually have a really good rule in our life that we won’t try to tackle any “problem” after 9pm. You’d be amazed how much of an improvement this single change can make in your life.
Decision making into the later hours of the evening when you’ve already had a full day and your mind (and body) is tired is just a bad idea. We will admit we broke the rule this night however, which certainly wasn’t a great idea!
Decision making into the later hours of the evening when you’ve already had a full day and your mind (and body) us tired is just a bad idea.
While better than moving in the winter (for the physical aspect of the move), moving is never fun. The expenses of renovations, new signage, changing over all of our labels and tasks like applying for a new business license, getting building inspections done and switching insurance, hydro and other bills, create lots of headaches too, to say the least.
So — when we learned the news, we were understandably a little bit panicked. While we didn’t have any intention of leaving the Bridgeburg area where we’d been for the last three years, we now we only had two months to plan and make a move.
Ready, Set, GO!
The very next week we began hunting all over town both near and far for a new place, and set up several appointments with realtors and building owners to see spaces.
Whether it was the size, the location or the price, with every place we saw something just wasn’t right.
We had booked multiple viewings all over the region and every single time we ran into an issue in one way or another. We had high hope for a couple of spaces, though these were taken off the market before we could even get a viewing.
There was one building we looked at in Fort Erie that kind of worked. We we’re getting a little desperate so we decided to put in an offer. We quickly realized we were rushing into something that wasn’t the best for us however, so soon after canceled that offer.
It becomes exhausting trying to imagine your business into new spaces, especially when they are drastically different than your existing space. Still however, we continued to persevere. There wasn’t really any other option BUT to persevere at this point!
Kind Neighbors In Bridgeburg
When our fellow Jarvis street businesses learned that our building had sold and that we’d need a new home, many were extremely kind in not only expressing their desire for us to stay a part of the street, but a few helped us to look for alternative locations too.
While it didn’t work our for us to stay as most buildings were either too small or needed too much work for us to get up and running quickly, we are so very grateful to all those who endeavored to help us in one way or another!
Enter Ridgeway | Going Full Circle
As it’s said, as one door closes, another one opens.
In late August, a great opportunity arose in potentially moving into an off-market building in the center of Ridgeway.
The combined elements of a perfectly timed encounter, a good subsequent meeting, and working through details with a building owner who understood our current needs and future vision, led us to believe we found the place we’ve been looking for!
After a long drought (building-wise that is), we finally felt a spark of excitement return, and knew Lovebee had found its new home.
320 Ridge Road North
Yes it’s true, Lovebee is moving to Ridgeway! Located at the very center of town, if you’re local, you will remember 320 as the Ridge Cinema Lounge or Boutique Movie Theatre.
This beautiful and charming building is going to make a fantastic home for Lovebee, and we’re over the moon excited about what we believe we can do within this magical space.
Now, it’s funny because Ridgeway itself will technically be our new, “old” home.
If you didn’t know, Lovebee’s humble beginning was in a tiny purple cottage literally on the very same road, just a few kilometers further back on the other side of Highway 3!
While we were not in the commercial district, and didn’t have a store-front (or even heating!) in our little farm house cottage, Ridgeway was home.
When we first began to look for a retail store space, we had actually started looking in Ridgeway. At the time however, there just wasn’t anything available. After waiting for several months without any movement of any kind, we began to look broader.
It seems it was the case of “right thing, wrong time” back then, however we’ve now come full circle to “right thing, right time”!
The Biggest Of Thank You’s
As we prepare for our new chapter and upcoming move to Ridgeway, our hearts are full of gratitude.
For three years Bridgeburg has been our home and the place where Lovebee truly began to bloom. From our little shop on Jarvis Street to the countless markets, events, and pop-ups we’ve been blessed to take part in, every step of this journey has been made possible by your support.
To all of you who stopped by to shop, to chat, or even just to say hello — thank you. Your encouragement and kindness have meant more than we can put into words. Each purchase, each smile, and each shared story has helped nurture Lovebee and allow it to grow into what it is today.
We’ve always said that Lovebee isn’t just about skincare, but about community. Over the years, you’ve become such an important part of ours. We are endlessly grateful for your trust, for choosing us when you could have chosen elsewhere, and for cheering us on as we’ve followed our dream.
Though we’ll soon call Ridgeway our new home, we will continue to carry every memory, every friendship, and every ounce of gratitude with us from Jarvis street. This next chapter is possible because of you, and we are so excited to welcome you into it with us!
Lovebee Is Moving To Ridgeway | The Fine & Final Details
Here are the fine details below for the upcoming move! Make sure to also stay connected with us on Instagram as well, as we’re always posting updates and news there as well
- This November we’ll be relocating to 320 Ridge Road North in Ridgeway.
- Our current location at 44 Jarvis Street will be closed to the public after Saturday, October 4th, 2025, which will be our last day open at that location. We’ll be open on the Saturday until 5pm!
- We’ll be doing two more in-person events this year regardless of the move, which is the Ball’s Falls Thanksgiving Festival (October 10 – 13) and the Handmade Holiday Market (November 21 – 23). So if things get a little delayed, there are still two more chances for in person shopping!
- Our plan is to open in Ridgeway within November 2025, however that is assuming all renovations and permits required are completed in time.
- Through the transition period, we’ll still be taking orders on lovebee.buzz, with FREE local drop off in Fort Erie / Ridgeway, and shipping Canada-wide.
Thanks so much for reading, and see you very soon at 320 Ridge Road North in Ridgeway!
