Olympia Tile is like a shrine to all things ceramic. Tiles are displayed throughout the store proudly shining under florescent lights and planting seeds for future reno projects. Sigh. If only I had any design sense.
What I love about this store is how easy it is to navigate. It has, supposedly, the largest selection of tiles in North America (according to Toronto Life), but it doesn't feel overwhelmingly big. Tiles are grouped together by type (transparent glass, opaque glass, tumbled stone, wood-lookalike, etc.) so you can walk around and imagine each in your home. Imagine a paint store where different swatches of wall were painted with different colours. It's kind of like that. But with tiles.
The people who work there are friendly and helpful - if a bit harried by the high volume of people trying to get their attention. You might have to wait a while to get your number called when picking up your tiles behind the store at the loading dock, but once they do, there are smiley guys there to help you load your car.
Two thumbs up for this place. Reasonable prices, too.