Saltbox

Meet the entrepreneur passing her skills along to other Black women

Tia Upshaw is on the verge of opening her fourth business, and she’s encouraging others in her community to follow their dreams, too.

In 2013 when she first had thoughts of opening a cleaning business, nobody would give Tia Upshaw a business loan. “It was a hard road,” she says.

By Victoria Walton Jan 22, 2021 5:17 pm

Jagger's Cafe is always fresh with made-to-order donuts

The Bayer’s Lake cafe has 630 different flavour combinations, ready when you are.

The “donut robot” at Jagger’s Cafe can churn out over 700 donuts an hour.

By Victoria Walton Jan 14, 2021 4:57 pm

Halifax dance studio struggling after third renoviction

Serpentine Studios owner Laura Selenzi says the pattern is frustrating.

Since first opening in Halifax in 2011, Serpentine Studios has moved to three different locations. Now, the dance studio is once again a nomad in the rental landscape of HRM, searching for a permanent space that fits all its needs.

By Victoria Walton Jan 10, 2021 10:00 am

Chain restaurants received an estimated $1.7 million of Nova Scotia’s ‘small business grants’

Among the grant applicants are 40 Subways, 33 Tim Horton’s, and 11 Boston Pizzas.

According to data released in December by the Nova Scotia government, the province gave out a total of $8.4 million to restaurants who applied for the first two rounds of Covid aid funding. The two grants given out by the province were the Small Business Impact Grant, which was first announced in April 2020, and the Small Business Re-opening and Support Grant, which was first announced in July.

By Victoria Walton Jan 9, 2021 10:00 am

Sure Things for January 6-12

Fill your calendar with these local happenings—both online are IRL.

Wednesday January 6 Alan Syliboy & The Thundermakers Renowned artist, activist and musician Alan Syliboy and his rain-bringing, eardrum-slapping Thundermakers open this year's online-only edition of the Open Waters Festival to deliver music that'll crack your skull open and scramble up what's inside.

By Morgan Mullin Jan 6, 2021 6:01 pm

7 Peppers Grill to return to Quinpool Road

Renovations are currently underway inside the old Bramoso Pizza.

When Hekmat Ani and her husband Abdul Jabi brought a Syrian restaurant to Halifax over a decade ago, they started on Quinpool Road. Four locations later, and they’re back, just a block down from their original location.

By Victoria Walton Jan 4, 2021 3:19 pm