‘Niche shop’ has lasted 25 years so far

George Chow stands in his office, a tight little hallway in his otherwise airy and open shop, fondly remembering the words that first came to his head 25 years ago when he decided to open up Peaches and Green, a specialty health food store on Bayview Avenue.

Wally Crouter, a retired Canadian radio personality, frequently shopped at a grocery store that Chow worked at packing groceries when he was a teenager.

“One day he said to me, ‘George, you are so good at what you do. One day you’re going to have your own store.’

As a teenager, Chow didn’t even think he would want his own store.

But when the idea of opening Peaches and Green came up, he flashed back to those words.

“When I thought of those words, I knew it was the right thing to do,” Chow. says

Peaches and Green was considered a niche store, because there was a need to help people with dietary restrictions, such as people with celiac disease.  In 1990, the market for gluten-free food was limited to Toronto General Hospital, Chow says.

Today, there is a huge market, as people are increasing their desire for a healthy lifestyle. Peaches and Green has adapted to those needs to include vitamins, sports nutrition and skin care products. Chow says he picks his products based on scientific research and empirical evidence, not what is trendy and makes money.

Chow’s favourite part of owning a store in Leaside is the community, particularly the families. He doesn’t like to pick favourites, but he loves when his customers care about leading a healthy lifestyle. However, he recalls a conversation he had with a young family’s two teenage boys — a demographic he says aren’t usually receptive to thoughts of healthy eating – and says it was one of his most memorable moments because of the boys’ enthusiasm for good health — something Chow attributes to the parents’ influence.

“When I see a family do that, it makes me happy because what I see is a healthy, happy family and there’s no reason why we can’t be that way,” Chow says.

Peaches and Green also offers monthly workshops on a first-come-first-served basis to educate customers on healthy living and nutrition.