Hamilton’s Bichette moves into new home on James Street North after being displaced by arson

Longtime downtown Hamilton women's clothing and apparel store, Bichette, moved into their new permanent home this week - the newly renovated corner of James Street North and Cannon Street.

Bichette, originally La Bichette, was forced to move into a temporary home - the storefront formerly occupied by women's apparel shop White Elephant - after an arson in April 2020, just weeks after businesses were shut down by the COVID pandemic.

On Aug. 21, they crossed the street to 154 James St. N., their fourth location on James Street North after opening at the corner of James and Colbourne streets in 2013.

Bichette's new location, once home to Mixed Media, was a cornerstone of the modern James Street North for over a decade.

After opening in 2005, Mixed Media, an early arts occupant of the street, moved into 154 James S. N. in 2008 and stayed in the corner location until heading to Westdale in 2018. For a decade, the building and art shop were central participants in arts festivals, even hosting massive Supercrawl sculptures on the roof for multiple years.

Bichette officially opened Aug. 23 and are now open with regular hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Jeremy Kemeny is a Hamilton-based web editor at The Spectator. Reach him via email: jkemeny@thespec.com