Serving the Residents of

Millbrook, Ontario

for over 14 years

On February 3, 1996 Shelly Manley and Cheryl Gordon opened Bear Essentials for the first time at 26 King Street East, in Millbrook, Ontario. Shortly after, they took over the Sears Catalogue Agency and moved to larger premises at 30 King Street East. Then, in 2004, Bear Essentials moved to 40 King Street East. In April 2009 Bear Essentials moved to 12 King Street East

On April 11th, 2005 Bonnie and Ian McQuarrie bought Bear Essentials from Shelly and Cheryl. Bonnie moved her Interior Design Business, Bethany Hills Interiors, into the store and added Home Decor to the mix of merchandise in the store. Within a month, it was obvious that the new selection of merchandise was popular with our customers. Shelly came back to help Bear Essentials grow, and later in the year, Debbie and Terri joined the staff to help handle the growing business. Ella, Dayna, Linda and Sherlene are now part of the staff, ready to help customers find the perfect gift.

On October 9, 2007, Bethany Hills Interiors moved across the street to a new location at 17 King Street East in Millbrook. Terri, Sherlene and Linda were in the new store to help you find the perfect piece for your home.

On September 29th, 2008 Bear Essentials Too opened at 12 King Street East. The Sears Catalogue Agency moved into the new store to free up space at Bear Essentials. In February 2009, Bear Esentials took over all the space on the ground floor at 12 King Street East. When the renovations were finished, on Easter Weekend, the total space occupied was almost triple the original space at 40 King Street East. 40 King Street East was closed at the end of April

In March, 2010, Sears Catalogue Agency was moved out of Bear Essentials to Armstrong's Village Florist and Gifts. That ended a 41 year association with Sears for Ian. Bethany Hills Interiors was move into the space vacated by Sears and finally the two businesses were reunited.

Bear Essentials serves the entire Township of Cavan-Monaghan and has many regular customers from Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough, Bowmanville and Port Hope. Bethany Hills Interiors serves a much wider territory, encompassing Lindsay, Peterborough, Cobourg, Port Hope, Newcastle, Orono, Bowmanville, Oshawa, Whitby, Brooklyn, Port Perry and beyond.