Shoptalk

In the immortal words of the Friendly Giant: look up; look way up. Otherwise, you might miss checking out Spring Garden’s latest salon. A Step Up Hair Design and Day Spa, located at 5982 Spring Garden, makes its home high above street level. It’s nestled in the third floor of the building that houses the […]

The Halifax Chamber of Commerce has announced the finalists for the 2008 Halifax Business awards. The awards will be handed out on January 31, at a sure-to-be-fancy soiree at the World Trade and Convention Centre. Finalists up for small business of the year include eco-friendly property inspectors ECCO Environmental Consulting and Contracting Inc., local beer-makers […]

Halifax decorating institution Abby’s Fabric Shoppe closed its doors in the Hydrostone on September 22. Don’t fret, though: The shop’s new owner, Karyn McCombe, began the process of transferring Abby’s merchandise over to its new home, inside McCombe’s shop, Bellissimo! (2743 Agricola), the very next day. After spending 28 years working in the custom drape […]

Can’t get enough of Mary’s Place Cafe (2752 Robie)? That’s perfectly understandable. Happily, it just got a whole lot easier to satisfy your Mary’s passion—the restaurant has extended its hours and is now open from 7am to 7:30pm, every day except Sunday. (They used to close up shop at 6pm). Why the new hours? Customer […]

<What's this—a sign announcing free tickets available for next Monday's (October 22) reading by former PM Brian Mulroney at The Book Room? Could it be the former PM, toting his bulky memoirs in which he slams Pierre Trudeau and others, isn’t drawing a crowd in Halifax? Quite the opposite, says Dawn Underwood, sales associate at […]

Store-owners talk a good game about their stores being friendly and welcoming. But artisan Chara Kingston is working to make her new shop, the Love Me Boutique (1539 Birmingham), literally feel like home. “It’s set up like an apartment,” says Kingston. “People who come through our door…are our guests. They can come, they can sit […]

Spring Garden area shoppers may have noticed that the huge wooden panels that covered the Mills Brothers storefront for most of the summer have finally been taken down. So, what was going on behind them? The store’s been undergoing massive renovations. Mills now has a brand-new front entrance and windows—and that fancy new door’s just […]

Did the April closing of the Zephyr Rug Gallery on Cunard leaving you feeling adrift and abandoned? Worry not, friend—Zehpyr is back. And it’s roomier, fancier and has customer parking. This week, Zephyr Rug and Home, the second incarnation of the aforementioned rug emporium, is set to open at 6232 Quinpool (formerly the Scout Shop). […]

The pots, food supplies and coffee-makers have all been carted out and the fridge is gone, too. As reported last week in Scene and Heard, the One World Cafe—an adored north end all-ages venue and community gathering-place—is officially closed. Owner Ken Pilkey‘s dad, Dennis, locked the cafe’s door on Sept. 12. Dennis has spent the […]

After months of prepping, painting and renovating, downtown’s newest Thai eatery, the Chabaa Thai Restaurant, is open for business at 1546 Queen. Restaurant co-owner and head chef Wen Prathumma, originally from Thailand, has been cooking in other restaurants for years, but Chabaa Thai is the first one he’s owned. And Prathumma’s ready to dazzle you […]

The shelves are different (and piney!), and the porn’s gone. Indeed, change is in the air at Mumford Video (7037 Mumford). Why the make-over? As of June 1, the store’s had a new owner. “We’re reviving it; we’re re-doing it. We’re renovating,” says Judith Gavin, the new owner in question. “It’s like we’re rescuing a […]

It’s time to face facts: Adrien Labrecque‘s apartment is cooler than yours. It’s also open to the general public nine hours a day, six days a week. Labrecque is currently living in the space that houses his new clothing boutique, the Spree Designer’s Market. Living in the fledgling store while he readies it for the […]