A Filming Location Tour of “Schitt’s Creek”

I’m interrupting My Guide to Palm Springs to bring you a very special guest post about Schitt’s Creek’s filming locations penned by my BFF Nat.  I’ve dragged Nat out on many a stalking adventure throughout our long friendship, but it was not until she recently fell in love with the Pop TV series Schitt’s Creek that she was inspired to to do some location hunting of her very own!  After a ton of research and cyberstalking (of which she hardly needed any help from me!), she flew over 2,500 miles (boyfriend in tow) from her hometown of San Francisco to Toronto, where the show is filmed and where her friend Devi lives, to see the sites in person!  Upon returning, she graciously offered to do a guest post for me which I immediately took her up on!  So take it away Nat!

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I’ve known Lindsay Blake for over 30 years.  And since we’ve known each other, I can say her enthusiasm for anything is contagious.  Busy Phillips, in her book, which Lindsay so kindly loaned me, talks about “sparkly humans” for whom the world opens up to.  That is Lindsay.  So I’ve found myself on numerous stalking trips with her, in the most random of places, talking to the most random people, and find myself forwarding her filming location addresses and taking pictures of locations for her. [Editor’s note – some of those pictures can be seen here and here!]

It wasn’t until I found myself utterly enthralled with the Roses and their town of Schitt’s Creek that I myself became obsessed with tracking down the locations that so frame the background of their plight and transformations.

For those of you who haven’t watched the Emmy-nominated show (Best Comedy Series; Lead Actor Comedy Series, Eugene Levy; Lead Actress Comedy Series, Catherine O’Hara; and Contemporary Costumes), the town itself is a character.  A character for which the leads show such disdain before falling in love with it, you can’t help adoring it yourself.  I became determined to make the trip to the Toronto outskirts to track down some key locations and am blessed that Lindsay trusted me with her blog to make a guest post.

1. The Rosebud Motel (308385 Hockley Road, Orangeville) – The motel, where the Roses find themselves stranded after they are literally sent packing from their mansion, is even more depressing in person than the on-set interiors modeled after it.

The sign in front of the property bears the name “Hockley Retreat Centre.”  However, the URL listed, “prse.ca,” takes you to The Athletic Institute Website, and articles about Schitt’s Creek filming cite that the location is actually a private residence.

Either way, the locale seems to be mostly abandoned and its interiors more fitting for a horror movie set, than a even a Schitt’s Creek motel.

Though the property seems to have found it’s calling as a filming location, as it has also appeared in The Umbrella Academy.

Coincidentally, the former Beverly Park estate (50 Beverly Park Way, Beverly Hills) of Lisa Vanderpump, of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Vanderpump Rules fame, is used in an establishing shot of the Rose family estate from which they are dislodged in the series’ pilot. [Editor’s note – sadly the mansion was destroyed by a fire in 2017 and no longer stands, but you can see a past aerial view of it below.]

 

2. Monte Carlo Inn (705 Applewood Crescent, Vaughn, Ontario) – One of the Schitt’s Creek episodes that had me giggling most was Season Four, Episode 8: “The Jazzaguy,” when Stevie Budd (Emily Hampshire) tries to cheer up David (Dan Levy) by taking him to a spa.  Unbeknownst to David, Stevie tells the spa it is their honeymoon, so they can get a deal and some added perks.  Of course, hilarity ensues when David and Stevie are subjected to the hotel’s over-the-top celebration of their nuptials.  While this was our first stop on our tour, it was the last location I found during my research.  The front fountain and the bathtub in the middle of the room made the hunt a breeze, as I figured the hotel would be on the route from Toronto to other filming locations from the show.  The Monte Carlo Inn, where filming took place, is just one hotel of a popular Canadian chain.  Not knowing it was an omnipresent Canadian franchise, when I described the hotel to Devi as being a place where people would have affairs during a work conference or trade show with its cheesy Greco-Roman architecture and middle of the room bathtubs, being familiar with the chain, she laughed and agreed.

The hotel did not share my excitement for tracing the footsteps of David and Stevie, most not remembering filming had taken place there until I played them some clips and they exclaimed “Oh yeah, I do remember that.”

How excited was I when I asked if we could see the room and they obliged.

The first thing I did was run to the bathtub so I could stand on the edge à la Stevie.  How I wished there were some cheesy honeymoon decorations adorning the room!

The restaurant was also used in the episode.

We even were able to sit in the chair Stevie and David dined from though it turned out the loveseat was not in the dining room but rather something the set designers had moved from the lobby.

3. The Blouse Barn (159 Main Street, Unionville) – While the location of David’s first job in Schitt’s Creek, The Blouse Barn, was not high on my stalking list, as it does not feature prominently in the series, my Canadian friend said we should hit it up because the town of Unionville is adorable.  It did not disappoint.  Without even seeing The Blouse Barn, the trip to Unionville itself would have been worthwhile.  The town is as picturesque as Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A., with its brick buildings, well-manicured and planted flower beds and a quaint train track running through. The Blouse Barn is actually a branch of Crock A Doodle, a paint-your-own-pottery studio.  I did not get any photos of the inside, as there was a children’s birthday party going on at the time of our visit and I didn’t want to make any parents uncomfortable.

Unionville is also where the pilot of Gilmore Girls was shot, so expect a blog post on Miss Patty’s Dance Studio soon.  Let’s just say, I wanted to break into the train depot and pirouette!  [Editor’s note – Yay!  Can’t wait for that post!]

4. Ted’s Veterinary Clinic (6342 Main Street, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario) – For a show that has been nominated for an Emmy, the residents and employees of the businesses who occupy the actual filming locations could not be any more nonplussed.  Nowhere was that more evident than at Ted’s Veterinary Clinic, which is really Thicketwood Veterinary Hospital.

As we pulled into the adorable town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, I declared to my BF that if he walked in and asked to see Ted, I would buy him dinner.  He gleefully complied and the vet techs replied, “There is no Ted here.”  When we followed up with mention of Schitt’s Creek they responded, “Oh yeah, they used the outside of our office for a scene, but we haven’t seen it.”  I was agog.  I watch almost every movie filmed in San Francisco because I love seeing the familiar sights in a new light and watching the characters interact with the city.  How could these people have not watched ONE scene that spotlighted their own place of employment?!?  [Editor’s note – Welcome to my world, Nat!  I ask myself that same question regularly!]

5. Café Tropical, Bob’s Garage and Rose Apothecary (Concession 3 Road and Highway 47, Goodwood) – Knowing that Café Tropical, Bob’s Garage and Rose Apothecary all meet at one intersection, I was most excited about the filming locations in Goodwood.  I could imagine David crossing the street from the apothecary to Café Tropical to peruse the vast menu for lunch.

Café Tropical is in reality a private residence.  You can see Bob’s Garage in the background.

Bob’s Garage also appeared to be a private residence.

I was beyond excited to see the fresh paint sign on Bob’s Garage as the owners reclaimed their residence from filming.

Rose Apothecary is a Romni Wools location and the staff was unpacking their wares, which they had recently returned to the store as filming of Season Six had just wrapped up a couple days before we arrived.

How I wanted to lip-sync “You’re Simply the Best” to my BF (which he is!) but the ladies working at the store were so unfriendly and unwelcoming, we took some photos and quickly left.

I apologize for the bad quality of the interior photo.  As I said, the ladies unpacking the store could not have been more unwelcoming.

The interior of the store is as charming as Rose Apothecary; the goods they sell at Romni Woods, not so much!  I wanted so badly to buy just one thing as a souvenir, but could not justify it, as everything reminded me of what one would find as they were cleaning out their dead grandmother’s house.  Let’s just say, anyone under 70 probably isn’t Romni Woods’ target market.

6. Roland Schitt’s House (4130 Concession 3 Road, Goodwood) – I could almost smell the enchilada sauce cooking and hear David and Moira yelling “Fold in the cheese!” as Roland’s house looks exactly like it does on screen.

I was beyond ecstatic to see the chains for the “Schitt Family” sign hanging from the front porch.

7. Schitt’s Creek Town Hall (4289 Front St., Goodwood) – Just down the street from downtown Schitt’s Creek and Roland’s house is Schitt’s Creek Town Hall, which is the actual Goodwood Town Hall.  You could practically hear the Jazzagirls harmonizing from the front steps.

Good luck to the cast and crew of Schitt’s Creek at Sunday’s Emmy Awards!  A special thank you to my friend Devi, a Toronto native, who showed us around, tolerated my quest for everything Schitt’s Creek and even though she hasn’t seen one episode of the show, drove us out to the Rosebud Motel.  And as Lindsay says, “Until next time, Happy Stalking!”

[Editor’s note – Thank you so much, Nat, for this fabulous post and that intro, which made me tear up!  I’m so glad my love of stalking has rubbed off on you!  Though I’ve never seen an episode of Schitt’s Creek, either, you’ve inspired me to start watching!]