Fredericton’s Radical Edge And Mill Town Owners Prep For ‘The Landing’ This Summer
FREDERICTON–A historic three-story building is about to become a prime stop for trail bikers and runners in Fredericton.
Brian McKeown is the general manager and co-owner of what will soon be known as The Landing, which is destined for a summer opening in Marysville, on the city’s northside.
McKeown hopes The Landing will become a hub for the community that acts as a place to stop and have a coffee, snack, or beer after a ride.
McKeown is a long-time co-owner of Radical Edge and has run its bike and ski Westmorland St. location. He freely admits that in his 30 years in business, he’s never been in the coffee service game.
At the Landing, that will be left up to another local favourite, Mill Town Coffee, which plans to build on the success of The Coffee Mill Restaurant and, more recently, Mill Town Roasters, which opened in 2019.
McKeown brought the idea of the bike shop and drink stop to Radical Edge co-owner Mike Davis before partnering with Carl Martens at Mill Town, who also loved the idea.
A Location Steeped In History
McKeown says If anyone rides their bike in Fredericton, they know many of the community’s multi-use trails converge around the area where The Landing plans to open this June.
The building itself, known locally as “Gibson’s Landing,” was originally the offices of Alexander “Boss” Gibson, a lifelong New Brunswick industrialist who purchased the land in 1862 for his cotton mill development.
He named the community Marysville, adding manufacturing facilities, housing, and a commercial area.
The planned community at Marysville is today considered among the earliest and most complete Canadian examples of an integrated industrial/residential community.
Many of its related sites have stood the test of time, having since been repurposed into modern housing and provincial government offices.
Gibson’s Landing itself had already undergone extensive renovations to modernize the building.
Its 6074 sq. ft. space spans three levels and sits on a corner of one of Fredericton’s busiest intersections, at Canada and Bridge streets. McKeown says The Landing will operate out of the first floor.
While the second floor of the building is intact, the building’s third floor required a portion of it to be removed to accommodate fire regulations, though McKeown revealed the space will still lend some character.
“Our tables, the accented walls, and the counter are going to be reclaimed wood from the third floor of the building,” shared McKeown. “We’ve gotten murals from Boss Gibson back in the day, so it’s kind of paying homage to that area in Marysville,” he said.
While it sits in the Marysville Historic District, designated as a National Historic Site of Canada, the building itself is not considered a heritage designated building.
“A lot of people think it is a historic building, and it is — but it’s not historic in the sense of being a protected heritage building where you run into difficulties doing renos,” he said.
A Trail Destination
With the Gibson’s Landing site already a trail and transit stop, McKeown hopes The Landing will entice more people to not only discover the trail system Fredericton has to offer, but also bring more attention to Marysville and The Landing as a trail destination.
The building was purchased from Tim Hortons Inc., which previously had local corporate offices there before moving on to a larger location.
As a Fredericton ‘Northsider’ for 51 years, McKeown also felt a proper coffee shop atmosphere was lacking in his end of town. He added that Mill Town’s experience serving it up at The Coffee Mill and Mill Town Roasters gives the local brand a proper foothold in Fredericton North for the first time.
Even with coffee clientele a focus, The Landing will also be a licensed establishment, with McKeown adding domestic beer and a rotating tap of craft beer, in addition to cider and Kombucha.
A roughly 30-seat patio is also in the works, which McKeown confirms will face toward the Canada Street side of the building.
“The patio is going to be a showstopper and it’s going to really change the front and the look of that building as well,” he said.
“We want it to be a friendly community place where everybody feels welcome and can come in and hang out after their bike ride — or maybe if they don’t ride a bike — that’s absolutely fine too,” said McKeown. “We’d love people to stop by on their trail experience in Fredericton and have a pint with us.”
Tyler Mclean is a Huddle reporter based in Fredericton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].