Stroll. Shop. Nibble. Sip. Repeat. It’s easy to catch the rhythm in Regina’s Cathedral Village, the established tree-lined neighborhood that has taken off along with Saskatchewan’s economy. The thriving collection of heritage homes and arty, independent shops and restaurants is centred around 13th Avenue between Albert and Argyle streets.

What to Do
Locals have long known of the area’s shopping and dining possibilities—heck, stores were already well established when a streetcar (now gone) began servicing 13th Avenue in 1911. Today’s commercial mix includes shops for hip new mothers (Groovy Mama) and musicians (Cobb Swanson Music), retro home decor nuts (Retrovise), and lovers of fine paper (Paper Umbrella). Restaurants range from the 13th Avenue Coffee House, catering to vegetarians, to the Crushed Grape Wine and Food Bar, where wine connoisseurs can sample wines by the glass (72 at last count).

And in a neighbourhood that boasts two butchers, a baker and umpteen candlestick makers (in the form of art and craft galleries) Fresh is, well, fresh. Zane Johnson, 23, opened this urban hip-hop clothing and accessories store in September 2007. Since then, Regina’s young and restless have come to admire the graffiti-inspired artwork on the walls and buy the hip merchandise on the shelves (think Artful Dodger hoodies, 10 Deep slim-fit jeans, Undrcrwn basketball shoes, and Scifen and Upper Playground T-shirts).

When decorating mavens and sisters Kendra Cruson and Brook Arnold opened Willow Studio last winter, they followed the successful formula of cousin Sandra Young’s Willow Studio in Calgary. Expect expert design consultation and contemporary home decor offerings including custom furniture lines from Bugatti Designs of Montreal (Willow Studios are the exclusive Western distributors) and Whittaker Furniture of Calgary, as well as Concept Carpette area rugs and a host of sleek lamps, vases and arty items to polish up your place.

When Lucinda Eilers, who with Jule Gilchrist is owner of Cuppa ’T, the Village’s specialty tea shop, could not find makeup that agreed with her sensitive skin, she created her own. Her Infiniti Mineral Makeup eyeshadows, blushes, bronzer and foundations use pure minerals with no fillers or dyes and are available opposite the loose teas in Cuppa ’T.

Where to Eat
Some neighbourhood folk were confused when Moe and Jeff’s Gourmet Foods opened last year. “They’d come in holding a nail, saying, “I just need one of these,” explains local cooking show host Jeff Merk who, with his wife and co-host Moe, transformed a former hardware store into a jazzy gourmet grocery, coffee bar and lunchtime bistro. With floor-to-ceiling windows, burgundy walls, bold art and clusters of espresso-coloured easy chairs, Moe and Jeff’s is the place to casually drop in for themed lunches, including homemade clam chowder on Seafood Fridays (“addictive” says one patron) and spicy Jamaican patties on Caribbean Saturdays. Ask the Merks to help you plan your own culinary adventures using unique products from the grocery section including Belazu pickled lemons and Moroccan barley couscous.

Tucked beside Wascana Creek, Creekside Terrace Bed & Breakfast occupies a 1914 Arts and Crafts-style home built with materials intended for Regina’s never-completed Grand Trunk Railway hotel. Using the same materials palette, but on a much grander scale is the Radisson Plaza Hotel Saskatchewan. Despite the name, this is Regina’s old Canadian Pacific Railway Hotel and as such features the same grandeur as its cousins the Banff Springs, the Hotel MacDonald and the Hotel Vancouver—sparkly chandeliers, marble thresholds and the assorted trappings of an elegant grand tour hotel.

Shopping
Groovy Mama, 306-347-2229, 3100 13th Ave., groovymama.net
Cobb Swanson Music, 306-569-3255, 2924 13th Ave., cobbswanso
nmusic.ca, Retrovise, 306-757-3876, 2146 Robinson St., retrovise.com
Paper Umbrella, 306-522-3800, 2724 13th Ave., paperumbrella.ca.
Fresh, 306-205-1325, 2926 13th Ave
Infiniti Mineral Makeup at Cuppa ’T, 306-352-4411, 2732 13th Ave.
Willow Studio, 306-522-9226, 3424 13th Ave., willowstudio.ca.

Eating
The Crushed Grape Wine and Food Bar, 306-352-9463, 2118 Robinson St., thecrushedgrape.ca
The 13th Avenue Coffee House, 306-522-3111, 3136 13th Ave.
Moe and Jeff’s Gourmet Foods, 306-584-5434, 2936 13th Ave.
Sleeping Creekside Terrace Bed and Breakfast, 306-569-2682, 2724 Angus Blvd., creeksideterrace.sk.ca
Hotel Saskatchewan, 306-522-7691, 2125 Victoria Ave., hotelsask.com.

Tourist Information
shopthevillage.ca
tourismregina.ca