If you’re anything like us, you’ve been watching helplessly as the days pass you by, vowing to finish up your holiday shopping “first thing tomorrow.” We see you and have you covered! Forget the 12 days of Christmas—or whatever tradition you celebrate: Here at The Coast, we’ve got your back with a dozen last-minute local […]
Shoptalk
Local shopping, small business & consumer news
Posted inNews + Opinion
Is your pet ready for their close-up?
People love spending time and money to get the perfect, studio-quality picture of their skin children, but what about those of us who want the same treatment for our fur ones? Look no further than Twodogs—a new pet photography studio in Dartmouth—started by Ryan Sheppard and Stephanie Newell with that exact vision in mind. The […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Quinpool Road brewpub seeks new owners
If you’ve ever wanted to own a bar, now’s your chance: The Brewery by Quinns is on the market. The Quinpool Road brewpub—right across from Preston Street—is listed for $400,000, boasting a “turn key operation” with a “huge kitchen,” a 750-hectolitre brewery and an “amazing outdoor patio.” The Brewery opened in 2022, a year after […]
Posted inFood + Drink
UPDATED: Lake City Cider eyes new brewery in spring 2025
Things are afoot at Dartmouth’s Lake City Cider. The cidery and perennial Best of Halifax favourite is in the midst of renovations to its Portland Street taproom, where it formerly shared a space with Brightwood Brewery. The latter closed its taproom in late March, citing “personal circumstances” and a need to restructure the business after […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Here are your Best of Halifax 2024 winners for Shopping + Services
Make that seven Best of Halifax gold awards for Spring Garden Road’s Bookmark. In its 35 years downtown, the indie bookstore has survived a change of ownership, two years of COVID-19 lockdowns and Jeff Bezos’s ever-expanding tentacles to bring Haligonians the latest titles from authors big and small. That’s not a small thing, says manager […]
Posted inFood + Drink
First look at Aroma Maya, Dartmouth’s new donut delight
It’s well past the morning rush when The Coast visits Aroma Maya Coffee + Donuts on a Friday. No matter. The colourful Prince Albert Road bakery and cafe is still brimming with regulars, even by 1pm. One customer orders a four-pack of donuts to go—an Eggnog Glazed, one Funfetti, two Nova Creams. Another eyes the […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Fortune Doughnut is closing—and reopening as Vandal Doughnuts
Ten months after Vandal Doughnuts closed its doors on Gottingen Street, the popular north end Halifax haunt is back as of this weekend. Gone instead? Fellow Gottingen bakery Fortune Doughnut. On Sunday, Aug. 27, Fortune shared on its Instagram that it would be closing for renovations. The reason, it revealed Tuesday, is that it had […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Glitter Bean’s workers turn to crowdfunding to save queer-centric co-op cafe
It’s the end of a hot and sweltering day, and Alex Marchand and Minnow Holtz-Carriere are closing up shop. There are counters to wipe, glasses to clean and stubborn appliances to fix. All in a day’s work at Glitter Bean Café, the queer-owned worker’s co-op that has served coffee at 5896 Spring Garden Road since […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Au Liban brings haute Lebanese cuisine to Lower Water Street
The first taste of grape leaves lands light and lemony on the tongue and immediately begs for more. Topped with pomegranate seeds and stuffed with rice, parsley and tomatoes, it’s both singing with flavour and seductively simple—the kind of cool dish perfect for a hot summer afternoon in Halifax. It’s the first thing chef Georges […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Good times are brewing at Stillwell’s newest taproom
The balloons are still hanging over the Kempt Road doorway into Stillwell Brewing Co.’s newest venture when a visitor arrives on Tuesday, thirsty and in the mood for a tour. It’s been two days since the Halifax craft beer mainstay opened the doors to its latest location—a taproom, hi-fi and retail store within its north […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Mera Cafe + Bar is big on storytelling
It’s a bright Halifax afternoon, and Mera Cafe + Bar head chef Sunpreet Singh takes a break from the kitchen to survey the scene: The restaurant he and co-founder Khushkaran Chahal first teased in October on the ground floor of the Jade Apartments (1595 Barrington Street, or what used to be the old Discovery Centre) […]
Posted inFood + Drink
The original Ray’s Lebanese restaurant is closing after 42 years
Beyond the glass door that leads into Ray’s Lebanese in Dartmouth’s Burnside neighbourhood, restaurant owner Raymond Khattar is bent into a plastic-backed chair and thinking about all the years that came before, along with what still lies ahead. After 42 years of serving Haligonians his signature falafel wraps—a run that cemented the 64-year-old Khattar as […]