Campden General Store

My favourite halfway stop for a coffee on the backroads drive between Hamilton and Niagara Falls. Highly recommend making this a destination on route. Great coffee, great service and a lot of really tasty menu items too, plus local goods in the store.

I wrote to this store privately about my experience on October 28th and they didn't respond. Here is the email that was left unanswered. Dear Owner of Campden General Store, I’m writing to you directly because I believe in handling things privately and respectfully, but I also believe in honesty. I visited your store today for the first time with my three-year-old son. We were genuinely excited to come in after following your beautiful posts on social media and had a few specific items in mind to purchase. Unfortunately, our experience left me deeply disappointed. When we walked in, the gentleman behind the counter was on his phone and took a noticeable amount of time to even greet us. When he finally did, he went straight back to his phone. I tried to overlook that, we all have off moments, but what happened next completely shifted the tone of our visit. While I browsed the next aisle over, my son was quietly looking at a display of macramé keychains and handmade jewellery near the counter. One of the jewellery displays, which was placed on a loose picture-frame holder, tilted slightly sideways. It could have happened to anyone- even an adult. My son wasn’t being rough or loud; he was simply shopping. Before I could even step back over, the man behind the counter raised his voice across the store and said, “Hey, young sir, unless you’re buying something, don’t touch the products.” My son immediately went red in the face, startled and embarrassed. I knelt down to comfort him and told the man that my son hadn’t been destructive and his response was that the items were handmade and he didn’t want them broken. As a maker myself, I completely understand wanting to protect handcrafted items. What I don’t understand is chastising a small child, especially in that tone, instead of addressing the parent. It was unnecessary, unkind, and frankly, unprofessional. A simple, respectful word to me would have resolved the situation instantly. The interaction left a very poor impression. After the exchange, the man simply went back to sitting behind the counter on his phone. That lack of engagement, paired with the way my child was spoken to, made it clear that customer care was not a priority in that moment. I want to be clear: this isn’t about the display or a minor accident. It’s about how people, especially families and children, are treated in your store. We were there with genuine excitement and intention to buy, and we left upset and uncomfortable. I’m choosing to share this privately because I believe in giving businesses a chance to hear feedback directly before it becomes public. But as a fellow small business owner, I hope you take this seriously and address how your staff interacts with customers, especially young ones. A store as lovely as yours deserves better representation than what we experienced.

First time visiting and I was pleasantly surprised by how much they offer. From coffee and desserts to everyday convenience items, they’ve got a great selection. The owners were incredibly friendly and made me feel very welcome—definitely a place I’ll be coming back to

Such a lovely experience visiting the Campden General Store today! They have absolutely everything you could want—from sandwiches and pizza to baked goods and a wide selection of coffee, wine, and beer! Using the store as a workspace is encouraged, and I will definitely be coming back with my laptop to get some work done someday. There are toys and books for kids—my son was entertained for almost a whole hour, which is saying something! Lol. Can’t wait to come back!

Stopped by here for lunch on our way to a farm. Had one of the things I needed after a long drive: clean washroom and coffee! This place has so much to offer and so pretty. Definitely a chill and hang spot too as they have board games & books, I would totally work here instead of a coffee chain place if I live in the area. The local artisan selection are also great, got a couple of Provisions jam to go with our charcuterie for dinner entertaining. My kids love the candy, ice cream and desserts selection. Ok, gotta admit, me too, haha!