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Farm-fresh food and family fun

This weeks Midweek Mugging features Kevin and Brenda Murison at the Wellington Country Marketplace on Jones Baseline
2018 01 31 GT -  Midweek Mugging Wellington Country Marketplace – TB 01
Kevin and Brenda Murison offer farm fresh food and fun at the Wellington Country Marketplace on Jones Baseline. Troy Bridgeman for GuelphToday.com

The owner of Wellington Country Marketplace has watched food buying trends come and go over the years but nothing is a substitute for good old-fashioned customer service and quality products.

“I feel like we have been with it for quite some time,” said Brenda Murison. “A lot of the younger families are trying to educate themselves but they’re often misinformed because there is a surplus of information and I think people just need to get back to basics.”

The family business stretches back three generations to Murison’s grandfather Maximillion “Mike” Maziarz, a master butcher who came to Guelph from Poland in 1927.

In 1934 he started a butcher shop Maziarz Meats in the basement of the family home on Harris Street in the Ward.

The business prospered and in 1954 he purchased a farm on the corner of Cassino Street and Victoria Road, where the Victoria Road Recreation Centre now stands, and moved the business there.

He died in 1956 and his sons Edward and Alex Maziarz, Murison’s father, carried on with the family butcher shop until 1994 when Murison took it over.

In 2000 she purchased property on Jones Baseline between Eastview Road and Speedvale Avenue and in 2004 opened the Wellington Country Marketplace. She married long-time friend Kevin Murison in 2013 and they run the market together.

“When I bought this place my dad said, ‘what are you thinking? You’re out in the middle of nowhere. No one is going to find you out there,’ said Murison.

She admits that the rural location has created challenges for attracting customers but it is ideal for her vision to create a country market destination for families to escape the city for a while.

“In the summer time it is nice to see people linger,” she said. “They come and get a sausage roll or one of the chef sandwiches and a cup of coffee. It was always my intention for people to sit and enjoy the countryside and take a little break from life.”

A big part of the attraction is the petting zoo and play area that is popular with kids of all ages.

“I get a kick out of the guys with their girlfriends or their wives who say ‘I’ve got to see the bunnies before we leave’,” said Kevin. “You’re 30 years old and you’re off to see the bunnies.”

Bunnies aren’t the only members of the market menagerie.

“We have Jake and Elwood, the two goats,” said Brenda. “We have three donkeys, two ponies, a little pot-belly pig named Marley and our marketplace greeter, our cat who just seems to love everybody. I know it takes a lot to get people away from their busy lives so we have to have that little bit of draw to get people out here.”

All of their fruits and vegetables are seasonal and grown in Ontario. They have three butchers on staff to keep the meat counter stocked with a variety of cuts and deli meats. The on-site bakery produces bread, buns, flatbreads and other baked goods and they hired a full time chef, Neil Dubois, last year to provide customers with ready-made meals such as lasagna, meat pies and a variety of salads.

“We certainly find that people are leaning toward that because they are really busy,” said Brenda. “When I opened this place I really was trying to teach that old school value. Come in and get your roast and potatoes. We will send you home with the recipe but they still want their ready-made meals.”

It is a combination of adapting to progress and sticking to tradition that has allowed them to grow the business.

“We are trying to keep pushing the name, the product and the concept,” said Kevin. “We still have room to grow within our confines here.”

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Troy Bridgeman

About the Author: Troy Bridgeman

Troy Bridgeman is a multi-media journalist that has lived and worked in the Guelph community his whole life. He has covered news and events in the city for more than two decades.
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