Residents in Milton, Ontario, will have more options for shopping and professional services following a comprehensive update to the Downtown Milton BIA business directory finalized late 2025 for the 2026 business year. The Downtown Milton BIA has added several new listings to its guide that reflect a shift toward specialty shops and personal-care services in the historic core. The update comes as the community plans for growth and advances the proposed Civic Square public realm project.
New additions include Eat My Sweets Bakery, a peanut- and tree-nut–free shop at 238 Main Street East that relocated from Streetsville (profiled in January 2025). Other recent listings are Gem Cut Barbershop (13 Charles St., unit #103) and Miano Hair Care (188 Main St. E.). The BIA’s “Coming Soon” list also highlights lifestyle retailers including The Secret Garden (listed as coming soon) and Wildwood Bookstore and Market (207 Main St. E.), which local reporting shows opened in early December 2025.
The Town of Milton is pursuing measures to make the downtown area more walkable and attractive to visitors. The Town has directed staff to proceed with Phase 1 of the Civic Square (the Downtown Civic Precinct) — a project intended to create a pedestrian-focused link between the Town Hall forecourt and Main Street (Council direction: July 14, 2025). The BIA last reported a vacancy rate of 8.6% (calculated by door count, i.e., number of storefronts, not by square footage). BIA Executive Director Monique Gaudet has said the organization is prioritizing businesses and programs that encourage people to spend time on Main Street and increase foot traffic.
These changes are part of a larger planning effort tied to Milton’s projected growth (the town has cited a target population of about 400,000 by 2051). When built, the Civic Square is intended to connect Town Hall to the main shopping strip and help make it easier for residents to visit local shops. Some business owners — for example, Michelle Brnjac of Eat My Sweets — have said they were drawn to the area because of its “centre stage” visibility on Main Street and the small‑town character of the historic core.
