Welcome to Great Books & Cafe at the Williamsford  Mill

About Us


Welcome to the Mill’s website! We are a restaurant and bookstore located in an old grist mill in Williamsford, Ontario, right in the heart of beautiful Grey County, and approximately 180 km northwest of downtown Toronto.  Come join us for an afternoon of great food and book browsing!


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Since 1977


Great Books had its start as a bookstore called Great Northwest Book Company on Jarvis Street, near the CBC in downtown Toronto back in 1977.


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To Newmarket’s Historic Main Street

The bookstore moved a few times since then — to Kleinburg, Bolton, and Newmarket, Ontario where we spent a dozen years on the historic Main Street.


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The Historic Williamsford Mill


In 2006, we purchased the Williamsford Mill, also known as Elliott’s Mill, an old grist mill just south of Owen Sound on Hwy 6 in the village of Williamsford. Although we initially thought it would be a turnkey operation, it took us nearly 4 years to renovate and restore the historic building, but we finally opened in late 2010. The Mill was built in 1850, making it one of the oldest mills in all of Ontario.

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Still Full of History


One of our special customers came in recently to tell us how much trouble he got into back in 1937 as a young boy when he painted on one of the mill’s wooden posts, which is still present in the main dining room! Come visit us at the Mill to see if you can find it!

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Great Books & Cafe at the Williamsford Mill


In July 2010, we had our Grand Opening with the support of our amazing community! We now offer a full restaurant, where we serve healthy homemade breakfasts and lunches with a focus on healthy, organic and local food wherever possible. We were joined by MPP Bill Murdoch, musician Larra Skye, Rochelle Bolton, Peter & Tamara Bolton, MP Larry Miller, and Howard Greig, Mayor, Township of Chatsworth

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