Inside Good Egg’s colourful new Kensington Market digs

Mika Bareket opened the O.G. Good Egg—stocked with niche cookbooks and kitschy kitchenware—in Kensington Market in 2008. It soon became a favourite among the city’s bookish gastronomes, but closed a decade later due to unsuccessful lease negotiations. Then, Bareket ran Good Egg as a web store with no plans to open another physical shop. But during the pandemic she realized she’d missed her brick-and-mortar operation. This summer, she signed a new lease—still in Kensington Market, of course—and opened the doors to Good Egg 2.0 in September. Here’s a look inside.

The mural by local artist Ness Lee came with the building but fit perfectly with Bareket’s vibrant vision for the shop, so she left it as is:

The store is divided into four sections, including books and cookware, baking essentials, a kids’ corner and an area for second-hand items:

The shop’s front desk is actually two IKEA islands pushed together:

Scattered throughout the store are a series of Bareket’s favourite cooking-related gifts and essentials: indestructible baby cups and dishware; puzzles and games; and green household supplies. Bareket is partial to Montreal-based Filo’s tiny cleaning sacks. “Each pouch contains a tablet that dissolves in tap water to make an entire bottle of all-purpose cleaner,” she says. “I love how little waste it makes”:

There are plenty of books by local authors, including Cooking Meat by butcher (and Good Egg store neighbour) Peter Sanagan and Eating Out Loud by Eden Grinshpan:

There are also adorable greeting cards, like these ones by local artists Allison Burda and Cameron Gee:

And caffeinated pick-me-ups: locally sourced coffee from Sam James Coffee Bar and tea from the New New Age:

The sausages hanging from the ceiling were made by Bareket and store manager Lara Desjardins from old pantyhose and butcher’s twine:

Bareket’s favourite area of the shop is the kids’ section in the back, featuring pastel toys, puzzles and—of course—books for young readers:

Here’s the thrift collection, made up of donated goods from Kensington Market neighbours. Some of the proceeds are donated to a local soup kitchen:

Good Egg sells vinyl records, collected from around the world. “We want to support what Toronto does best: represent every culture with love and respect,” says Bareket:

Here’s the front window display:

156 Augusta Ave., goodegg.ca