A Surf-Inspired Gathering Place Lands in Collingwood
Georgian Bay Surf Club blends heritage architecture with lakeside ease to create a new community hub
When Curtis Eichenberger first dreamed up the idea for the Georgian Bay Surf Club, it was nothing more than a tongue-in-cheek Instagram handle shared between a few winter surfers. “It was just a fun little community thing,” says Eichenberger, who started selling screen-printed hoodies and T-shirts at a loss to friends nearly a decade ago. But that grassroots identity—laid-back, locally rooted and proudly offbeat—would eventually grow into something much bigger.
Today, the Georgian Bay Surf Club is a fully realized hospitality concept located in the heart of downtown Collingwood. It occupies a long-standing, two-storey commercial building on Hurontario Street reimagined as a vibrant community hub that brings together a ground-floor restaurant and an upper-level surf shop and event space—offering a fresh focal point for the growing local surf culture while adding something unmistakably cool to Collingwood’s historic main street.
The restaurant invites guests—in a casual yet refined setting—to discover a food menu inspired by ingredients, dishes and flavours found in surf communities around the world.
The idea to take over the building came about organically. Eichenberger, a general contractor by trade, was initially brought in to assess the site for a simple pre-sale renovation. But when he realized the longtime owners were serious about listing, he saw an opportunity. “I walked down the street to meet my now-partners for a beer and told them, ‘This is it. It’s not going to get any better than this,’” he recalls. The group purchased the property privately in late 2022. Originally intended as a real estate investment, the concept quickly evolved into something more personal—and more ambitious.
Emerald Green Quartzite defines the bar and acts as a nod to the nature of Georgian Bay and Collingwood.
Warm brick and soft wood tones lend a grounded, heritage feel to the restaurant’s bright, modern dining space.
The bright front entry draws passersby into the space, reinforcing the Surf Club’s role as a lively, community-facing hub.
135 Hurontario Street, Collingwood.
With a narrow, 22-foot-wide footprint and a rich local legacy, the building presented both spatial challenges and unique potential. Westgrove, the Toronto-based interior design studio led by Keri MacLellan, was brought on early to help shape the aesthetic identity of the space. “We looked at it as one book with two chapters,” says MacLellan. “The spaces upstairs and downstairs had to feel distinct but still cohesive.”
“We looked at it as one holistic space,” says Keri MacLellan of Westgrove. Skylights above the surf shop allow natural light to bleed down into the restaurant below, connecting the two levels and emphasizing the building’s infill character.
Maintaining the building’s architectural heritage was a key priority for the team. On the exterior of the Georgian Bay Surf Shop, original corbels were preserved and painted to reflect the historic palette of Collingwood’s main drag. Inside, exposed structural walls—remnants of the neighbouring buildings—add texture and narrative to the restaurant, while skylights above help usher natural light from the surf shop down into the dining space below.
The surfboards on display speak to the space’s authenticity—this isn’t just a theme, it’s lived experience.
The interior palette draws inspiration from the relaxed rhythms of lakeside life, but with restraint. “It’s not California coastal,” MacLellan notes. “We wanted it to feel uniquely Georgian Bay.” Natural wood finishes run throughout both floors, used for millwork, display units and built-in seating. A checkerboard tile motif near the bar adds a playful, modern contrast, while a show-stopping stone countertop—its colours evoking the surrounding terrain—anchors the main dining space.
Upstairs, the Georgian Bay Surf Shop feels equal parts clubhouse and curated boutique. Custom board racks line the back wall, while warm wood finishes and natural light from the skylight above give the space an inviting, lived-in quality that reflects the Surf Club’s community-first origins.
Collaboration between architecture and interiors was integral. Architect Kaegan Walsh, who grew up in nearby Thornbury, joined the project to support code and zoning needs and help navigate the complexities of transforming a heritage commercial site. “It’s a great example of how a building can be repurposed while still respecting the existing streetscape,” he says. “And personally, it’s cool to see something like this come to life in a place I’ve known my whole life.”
For Eichenberger, the response from the community has made the effort worth it. “The support has been amazing—locals, tourists, people just walking in off the street,” he says. “It’s still early days, but we can feel the momentum building.” Looking ahead to the summer season, he’s optimistic that the Surf Club will continue to evolve into the kind of all-welcome clubhouse that inspired it in the first place. “We’re not quite riding the wave yet,” he says. “But we know it’s coming.”
