All in Local Business
Open City, organized by I Love Local HFX, is such a fun annual spring event! For me, it's a chance to reconnect with local business owners I have come to know over the years and to visit some new exciting restaurants and shops here in Halifax and Dartmouth.
Every Saturday morning at 7am, you can find Chef Ben Kelly looking down on the Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market from the second-floor balcony, watching vendors arriving and setting up their booths. With a hot cup of coffee in hand, it’s a nice, quiet way to start a market visit before the crowds arrive.
Laura MacLeod, owner of The Old Apothecary, is the creative force behind the colourful bakery and cafe located on Barrington Street in downtown Halifax. TOA is filled with delicious croissants, pastries and breads made from scratch on-site, with mostly locally-sourced ingredients.
Shannon-Blue Nanibush, Emily Orr, Anne Marie Bungay-Larose and I collaborated on a photoshoot at Field Guide to share with you a cocktail of their own and to discuss what it is like to be a woman bartender in 2017.
My first introduction to Rousseau Chocolatier went something like this… I stumbled into the shop on Hollis Street wide-eyed and excited and blurted out “Hi, I’m Michelle and I love chocolate.”
Showcased in colourful rows were a gorgeous spectrum of flavours – classics like lemon, lavender, raspberry and rose as well as seasonal flavours like pumpkin spice, gingerbread and crème brûlée, and these were just the macarons!
Bee grew up in Digby, Nova Scotia. “Being in a coastal town, you're never too far from a beach or some gruff twinkly-eyed fisherman. I love that no matter where you go there's always someone to give a big, old friendly smile to.” She really has this easy-going, authentic, friendly way about her that instantly puts you at ease. Someone I could happily sit with beside a campfire sharing drinks and funny stories.
