Dundas General Store is a general store and cafe where you can grab cafe fare and browse lifestyle items that are independently and locally produced.

The space is a collision of cozy and industrial with lots of concrete and metal and touches like a flowering mural on one wall.

It’s part of the development quietly slipping businesses in under a condo on Dundas West.

The store is divided into rough sections: food products, men’s lifestyle products, women’s lifestyle products, pets, and kitchen, and then of course there’s the sandwich and pastry case and cafe section.

Candles by 100 Years of Love ($27.99) ease the transition between men’s and women’s sections, locally made and utterly hypnotic smelling. You can smell candles with names like Femme Fatale and Burn Baby Burn by sniffing the glass hoods testers are kept under.

Wrench multi-tools ($33.99), compact backpack multi-tools ($17.99) and keychain tool kits ($19.99) by Gentlemen’s Hardware sell like hotcakes.

Toronto company Wildly Delicious has their butter chicken, peri peri, biryani and BBQ sauces ($7.99) stocked here, a quick pickup on the way home for an easy dinner.

Konifer watches ($150 - $495) are produced in Quebec where they’re apparently already very popular, though this was one of the first stores in Toronto to stock them. They’re handmade using natural wood, stainless steel, and/or gold.

Coffee is provided by Hale and typically uses their espresso for cortados ($3.50), lattes ($4.25) and drip coffee ($2.50 - $2.75).

They also offer seasonal specialty drinks like the “Cosman Cooler” ($4.75) made with organic maple syrup from Cosman & Webb produced in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, which matches an espresso shot with two shots of chocolate and a little caramel.

White chocolate Skor is one of multiple rotating flavours of inventive soft cookies ($2.25). Other pastries include croissants ($2.50), banana bread ($3), zucchini bread ($3.25) and a gluten free chocolate cake ($4).

There's also a tart ($3.25) with seasonal fruit piled on top and a rich, sweet dulce de leche cheesecake.

Sandwiches ($8) include a standard grilled veggie sandwich on a soft, thick powdery bun with sundried tomatoes and hummus.

Moist house-pulled chicken on a seeded round bun is topped with slaw for a balanced but satisfying lunch.

To drink, try something seasonal like a refreshing and slightly addictive lemon ginger lemonade ($4).

Increasingly concepts like this are providing customers with unique experiences in the same vein as shops like the Drake General Store or vegan market The Imperative.