Here’s the challenge: identify the location pictured below: London’s Docklands? New York’s South Street Seaport? Perhaps closer to home – Toronto’s Distillery District? Try Leaside’s Industrial Street. It’s a little bit of faux 19th century factory architecture in our local business park, which, since 2024, has elevated the otherwise drab commercial streetscape.
Known as the Courtyard, it is the brainchild of Peter Ntakos, president and founder of Kreitmaker, a leading supplier of masonry, concrete and landscaping materials, which Leaside Life first featured in November 2022.
Ntakos bought 31 Industrial St. in 2003. He made the astute decision to locate his business in a central location to reduce commute time for his customers, who are mostly builders and homeowners creating custom homes and additions or doing renovations.
And that, along with his good business sense, has ensured the “made in Leaside” company is a success story. Ntakos explains that he is “a brick guy.” “My father was in the concrete business and so I was familiar with this line of work from a young age. Growing up in the Oakwood area meant I was surrounded by 100-year-old brick buildings; it’s a look I learned to love, and which connects me to Leaside.”
Kreitmaker has grown to include an outlet in Scarborough and a showroom on Davenport Road. They have expanded their services to lowering basement floors, doing chimney repairs, beautifying driveways and supplying materials for “granny” suites. They have even begun making concrete burial vaults. But they are first and foremost distributors of bricks. Ntakos explains that most of the bricks are imported from European manufacturers although there are two brickworks in Ontario which supply good solid local building materials to customers. Their showroom on Industrial Street is impressive; it is there where I learned that they could match any brick, colour and texture-wise – good to know for many Leaside homeowners.
It was last year that Ntakos got the idea to convert their tired asphalt receiving driveway into something beautiful as well as functional. “I took my design inspiration from Longo’s (originally the Canadian Northern Railway repair depot, circa 1918) and some of the other industrial buildings in the old factory area,” says Ntakos. “I wanted to build a courtyard and event space that showcased our brick and cobblestone products.” It’s ended up looking more like a movie set than an exterior brick showroom.
Since last spring it has been the locale for three or four events per year. There have been “lunch and learn” sessions for architects and vendors as well as themed gatherings such as “Bricks, Bourbon and Beer.” They recently held a successful event called “The Laneway Lifestyle” that brought together contractors, vendors and a City planner. Ntakos explains that all events are catered by another Leaside “institution,” GrillTime, at 62 Laird Dr.
Kreitmaker seems to be paved with gold, especially since Ntakos brought his son Constantine on staff as marketing coordinator. It’s great to know such a valuable building supply depot is so close at hand. Aesthetically it’s even better. Plan to include the first block of Industrial Street in your next Leaside walk. For the full “Distillery District” vibe, stroll past at night when their unique lighting brings brick and cobblestone to life.
