For many people who love food and hospitality, the dream of one day opening a space dedicated to cooking, sharing knowledge, and celebrating great ingredients quietly lingers in the background. For Nicola Gillis, that dream eventually took shape in Halifax with the opening of Saffron & Salt, a thoughtfully curated cook shop and cooking class venue located at The Richmond Yards on the corner of Clifton and Almon Streets. The ‘Yards’ is quietly creating a culinary oasis in Halifax’s North End, as Saffron & Salt neighbours include a fine food emporium, a cake shop and will soon welcome a new Italian café and eatery.
Gillis’ journey began not in Nova Scotia but in Toronto.
Gillis was born and raised in Ontario, building a career that always circled around food and hospitality in one form or another. She studied hotel and food administration, later working with restaurants and retail through her role at Kraft Foods before moving into retail and consumer packaged goods.
“Food was always central to my professional life, but it was also always a personal passion that never left,” she says, even during periods when it was not part of her regular workday.
Life eventually offered an opportunity to reset.
Along with her husband, who is originally from Sydney, Nova Scotia, Gillis began thinking about a move east that would allow them to be closer to his family. The idea simmered for some time. At one point, they even made an offer on a house but did not get it, and the plan was shelved for a while.
Then everything suddenly accelerated.
“We thought we might move later,” Gillis recalls. After originally being notified that another offer had been accepted on the house they hoped to purchase, the situation changed when that offer fell through. Faced with making a quick decision to stay or go, they decided to move.
“We left Toronto on December 23 and arrived on Christmas Eve to our new house.”
It was, in her words, a whirlwind.
At the time, Gillis had been teaching at a Montessori school in Toronto while raising her children, which allowed her to stay close to home during their early years. Once settled in Halifax, she began looking for work but quickly realized none of the opportunities she encountered truly excited her.
With the comfort of her husband securing work in his field, rather than rushing into another job, he suggested she take some time to think about things.
“I decided to step back and ask myself, what do I really want to do?” she says.
That question became the starting point for Saffron & Salt.
With her background in hospitality and food retail, the idea of opening a café briefly crossed her mind. But after considering the realities of the coffee business, which she jokes can be quite a grind, she began thinking about something different: a space dedicated to cooking itself.
A place where people could touch, feel and explore quality kitchen tools while also learning new culinary skills.
“I realized I wanted something that wasn’t too bougie, but also something that delivered quality,” she explains. “A shop where people could come in and really experience the tools before they buy them.”
The idea took shape quickly.
In December 2024, Gillis enrolled in an entrepreneur development program through ACOA’s CEED, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development. The program provided coaching, marketing support and guidance on building a business plan.
“It was fantastic,” she says. “The idea went from concept to implementation remarkably fast.”
As the business plan and financial projections came together, the perfect location appeared at Richmond Yards, the rapidly evolving development on Almon Street that is becoming a hub for independent retailers and creative businesses.
Originally projected to open in summer 2025, Saffron & Salt officially opened its doors in September 2025.
For Gillis, the first challenge to overcome was financial.
“I’ve always worked for someone else,” she says. “Suddenly, you are responsible for inventory, cash flow and the uncertainty of not having a consistent paycheque. That was intimidating at first.”
Another challenge was building connections in a city where she had few existing networks.
“Halifax is very much a word-of-mouth city,” she explains. “I underestimated how important those social networks are when you are starting out.”
Patience and a commitment to personal service have helped the business grow.
Gillis runs the shop herself with no employees, allowing her to guide every customer experience. Every product on the shelves has been researched, tested or personally selected.
“If someone sees two vegetable peelers in the store,” she says, “you can be guaranteed those are the two best-rated peelers I’ve found. Then I test them myself before being willing to put them on a shelf.”
The shop’s curated inventory reflects her philosophy. While some items are premium, others are simple but exceptional tools, some of which retail for under ten dollars.
“Not everything has to be expensive,” she says. “But it should always be high quality.”
Local products are another passion.
Gillis proudly stocks items such as cutting boards crafted by Brian Holten, a woodworker just outside Halifax who uses salvaged wood to create beautifully finished boards. She also sources unique regional ingredients, including locally grown organic saffron from Coastal Grove Farm near Yarmouth, which also produces specialty organic teas.
Alongside these local products, the shop carries premium global brands such as Wüsthof knives, making Saffron & Salt one of the few retailers in the Maritimes offering the renowned German cutlery.
Beyond retail, the heart of the space may be its cooking workshops.
The classes, typically held once per week, cover a wide range of topics driven largely by customer curiosity. Past sessions have explored everything from sourdough bread and handmade pasta to sushi, dumplings, Palestinian flatbread and essential knife skills.
The workshops also serve another purpose: connecting Gillis to Halifax’s culinary community.
“Working with chefs who lead the classes has been an incredible way to build relationships,” she says.
Support from fellow entrepreneurs, particularly women, has also been important. She credits neighbours like Amanda at Sugar Nursery and other Richmond Yards retailers for creating a sense of camaraderie within the development.
“Halifax is big enough for all of us,” she says. “There is a wonderful network of women supporting women here.”
Looking ahead, Gillis plans to continue expanding both the product selection and the workshop program. She also sees an opportunity to help customers in different life stages, from beginners building their first kitchen toolkit to homeowners downsizing into smaller spaces who need multifunctional equipment.
Through it all, she remains deeply grateful to the people who helped turn her idea into reality.
She credits Jay MacDougall at CEED for guiding her through the process of transforming a business plan into a physical storefront and helping her move past the inevitable hurdles along the way. However, her biggest supporters have been her family.
“My husband mops floors and helps with utilities,” she says with a laugh. “My daughter Alexa makes greeting cards for sale at the shop, and my son 12-year-old son James is here once a week helping. He’s become a customer favourite, with many asking for him by name.”
For Nicola Gillis, Saffron & Salt represents more than just a retail shop.
It is a place where curiosity about food meets craftsmanship, where tools and ingredients inspire creativity and where the joy of cooking is shared one workshop, and one perfectly chosen vegetable peeler, at a time.