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Downtown Markham - The Origin

Downtown Markham

(3 reviews)

Unionville

Every time I say that I'm heading over to or hitting downtown Markham, it still sounds weird to me…read more I will admit that it is growing on me after a few years. Like downtown Mississauga, downtown Markham is fairly new. The notion was to create condos and have locals walk to businesses. Enterprise Boulevard is a pleasure to drive along to head there. Stores, condos, and new developments continue to be built, including York University's new Markham Center Campus in Fall 2023. Currently, York U. has YSpace Markham, which supports folks who are innovators in technology, and food, and beverage sectors. Before the pandemic, I rarely hit the downtown core. I only visited Chatime, ME-VA-ME, and Cineplex VIP. During this pandemic, I have been able to discover cool new places. Copper Branch. Comebuy. Poke Guys. South St. Burger. I love how cool the Marriott hotel looks here. One of these days, I'll need to book some time here and check it out, along with its fabulous restaurant. I am a regular bubble tea customer at Comebuy and Chatime. Who knew? I have been supporting both regularly for the past 1.5 years and have established a nice rapport with staff. There is only one Comebuy in the GTA. If I'm away for a rare couple of weeks, staff are literally concerned. One made sure before Christmas 2020 to let me know what their hours of operation were, so I wouldn't be disappointed not getting any bubble tea! There is plenty of parking. There are lots that are primarily free. I have yet to be asked to pay for parking. In front of Comebuy and Poke Guys, even where street parking isn't exactly available, parking briefly to fetch takeout is okay. I have yet to see any parking police come over and I am rarely parked longer than five minutes. There is an indoor merry-go-round at the northwest corner of Birchmount and Enterprise. I admire it from afar these days. It has been closed since the pandemic, but looked magical and festive around the Christmas holidays. Back in the summer of 2017, I came here for the Markham ribfest. It moved from Warden and highway 7 over here. I had an excellent time, despite getting caught in the rain and getting soaked trying to get to my car from the venue. I do miss seeing events downtown and hope that they return when it's safe. I like it here. It's constantly growing and changing. It's nice to briefly admire the lights in the wintertime and people-watch in the summer. (263)

Downtown Markham is not really Downtown Markham. It is a mixed use commercial and residential…read moredevelopment by developer Remington Group. It will take years to complete but I like what they are doing. An area that local residents can meet up, eat, shop and play and even actually live in the immediate area. There are a mix of franchise and smaller independent businesses has set up shops here: Cineplex VIP, Milestones, Marriott, Chatime, Golf Town, Aroma Espresso, just to name a few. Good Catch, Poke Guy, Lucullus Bakery, Kiu Japanese are some of the smaller independent restaurants. The annual Markham Ribfest has moved here and for this Summer there was live performance every Saturday night. I looking forward to all the future development and hopefully I don't need to go downtown Toronto for a fun night out and instead can just hop by Downtown Markham!

Markham Rotary Ribfest - Fun area for kids

Markham Rotary Ribfest

(2 reviews)

Unionville

I am giving this ribfest 3.5 stars out of 5…read more It has been a few years since I have been to a ribfest in Markham. It used to be an annual event at Warden and Highway 7, but it has changed to the lot next to the Cineplex in downtown Markham. I was trying to figure out where I would park. Just seeing a movie on the weekend at this Cineplex can be a challenge when it comes to parking. Sure enough, all parking spots were taken when I got there after work on Friday. To the organizers of this ribfest, signs to parking should be up to help patrons. There was a lot across the street from where the ribfest was. I drove in and asked a security guy if this was public parking. He said no. He wasn't exactly helpful as to where I could go to park. I just pulled out and winged it. I did find parking in a lot on Birchmount, just south of Enterprise. Parking was free. However, it did take a couple of big Markham blocks to walk over to the venue. You pay $2 for admission, which is decent. If you have a handbag or bag, security requires that a scan be done. I went through just fine. There are a decent number of places for you to test your tastebuds as far as ribs, pulled pork, and chicken go. After much thought, I went with Gator BBQ. I ordered the chicken and rib combo (quarter chicken with a half rack of ribs) for $17. I also got baked beans ($2) and cornbread ($3) as sides. I ended up placing a loonie in the tip jar. When you do that, one of the staff members rings a bell and indicates that you are a tipper. It definitely put a smile on my face. You need to bring cash. Most venues accept cash only. The woman behind me asked if Gator BBQ accepted credit cards. I didn't know. She went up to ask and it didn't. She then asked me if it was okay if she went to the ATM and where she could line up behind me again. I was fine with it. She was grateful, as she had her young daughter with her. My plan was to either eat in my car (many of the benches were taken) or bring my food home. I saw the Beavertails sign and immediately got an apple cinnamon beavertail. The skies were changing from cloudy, to overcast, to downright stormy. Sure enough, nearly halfway into my walk back to my car, a huge downpour took place. I felt like I was swimming at one point. I took shelter in the lobby of a restaurant. Sadly, I don't know what the name of it was, but I would like to thank the folks there for housing me and a bunch of soaked folks during the pouring rain. To put the downpour into perspective, I walked for roughly thirty seconds and my entire front-facing self was soaked. My t-shirt was sticking to me and and I was drenched. I stood there waiting for the rain to stop. It was nearly half an hour. I was still holding my food. It was a first for me to eat food not offered at the restaurant in which I was seeking refuge from a ton of rain! The ribs were delicious. They were tender and flavourful. The baked beans were perfect. They weren't overly salty or sweet. I love cornbread. This square hit the spot. The chicken was moist and tender. I typically don't eat the skin. It was so good that I ate it all up. I didn't have a drink with me. I downed all my food. Everything was that juicy. Naturally, my apple cinnamon beavertail was amazing, as always. It's comfort food for me. I need it, since I was soaked. When the rain was letting up and the sun was trying to break through the ominous clouds, I made my way to my car. Downtown Markham is new and improvements are definitely needed. The parking lot was flooded in a number of spots. It was to the point where I had to walk through one huge flooded area and my sneakers ended up getting soaked, right down to my socks. I had a great food-tasting experience. The infrastructure, including signs to parking, needs help. It also took me twenty minutes to exit the parking lot. (143)

Always a Great Event!!…read more Wow, I can't believe I'm only the second reviewer!! I've been going to this RibFest now for many years. I typically go to 5 or 6 rib Fests in the GTA every year. This is now the second year that the Ribfest has been hosted by Downtown Markham in the parking lot east of the Cineplex Plaza. if you are attending this event go to the website and they will post where to park. I parked just across the street from the Pride of Canada Merry Go Round, and its where I parked for the 2018 Rib fest as well. Save yourself trouble as many try to park in the theatre parking lot and it is usually full of shoppers and moviegoers. Now to the RibFest!! Yes once you walk in they ask for a 2 dollar donation that goes to charity and you have to go through a metal detector when you arrive. The event is full of volunteers to help you so if you need anything ask!! There are portable toilets and a handwashing station so you're covered if you have to go. The event is split into a few areas, the main area, where the ribbers are, the kid's area with rides and prize games. The vendor's area when you walk in and the south side of the event is where the main stage, the beer tent, and a covered area for eating as well as many places to sit if you want to watch the entertainment on the stage. We were a little disappointed with the kid's area this year as the selection of rides was smaller. Last year they had a few more rides. The rides this year seemed to be geared towards smaller children and toddlers. My kids were 5 and 7 years old and they weren't that impressed with the rides. On another note, all of the kid's section is right out in the sun, with no shade and the bouncy castles were burning hot and my kids did not stay in them too long. Note to the organizers, get better rides and set up in a shaded area. Now for the main attraction, the ribs!! I noticed more and more Ribbers are serving beef ribs, which is great since not everyone eats pork. There were also additional food trucks serving other items besides ribs. Some of the selections are stinky tofu, poutine, beavertails, lemonade, and a few other options. This year we decided on Razorback Ribs, the Razorback team were awesome, they treated us very well and let my kids inside the grill area and showed them how ribs were made. They also made us some ribs without sauce, since one of my kids didn't like their sauce lol. Our meals from Razorbacks included Chicken, Pulled Pork, Ribs, Coleslaw, baked beans, and Corn Bread. We got poutine from the poutine truck, which is run by Prince Edwards Fries, which were very tasty. Aside from the Kids area being subpar, and the fact that is was a really hot day, this Ribfest was a success!!! I can't wait until next year!!

Samajam - theater - Updated May 2026

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