If Halifax’s business scene is like a forest, it’s a joy to see new saplings take root (for example, here’s a look at what a batch of newbies are up to on the waste-reduction front). And there’s an existential ache when a towering old-growth tree falls. Sure, some death is useful to foster life […]
Retail
Posted inNews + Opinion
Fare thee well, Newfoundland Store
Almost all of the shelves are bare now. They are so close to closing. The Newfoundland Store has been at the corner of Willow and Clifton practically since before your nanny and poppy were born. And now we are the ones who witness its last days. The shelves. They were built more than 50 […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
First look: Thief & Bandit’s downtown showroom/studio
Thief & Bandit grand opening 1673 Barrington Street Saturday May 25, 11am-5pm A mie Cunningham uses the word organic a lot when she’s talking about Thief & Bandit. From the fabric she prints on, to her creative process, to the slow-and-steady evolution of her fashion line, a nod to the natural sums up her nearly […]
Posted inArts + Music
All eyes on Alexa Pope
Alexa Pope 1477 Lower Water Street If you want to know what it takes to be a boss just ask Marianne Thomson and Lauren Wambolt. The owners of Alexa Pope, one of Halifax’s trendiest fashion retailers, recently expanded their store on Lower Water Street. It’s a chic setup complete with minimalist vibes, marble touches, hints […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Labour concerns at Freak Lunchbox
It’s another story of workplace unrest in a year of renewed labour focus on the local service industry. Two longtime employees at Freak Lunchbox are no longer with the popular candy store, with one telling The Coast she was fired without cause after organizing staff to voice their concerns. Tegan Macfarlane, 24, was dismissed from […]
Posted inLifestyle
Weed mapped: what’s behind where the NSLC will sell legal cannabis
Weed users got a skimpy gram from Stephen McNeil’s government when the province’s legal cannabis retail locations were revealed this week. There will be exactly nine NSLC locations carrying chronic for all of Nova Scotia, justice minister Mark Furey announced, from Yarmouth to Sydney River. You can see them all in the map below. For […]
Posted inArts + Music
How to get a job where you can make a Difference
Your standard student/artist job—server, barista, retail—is rarely in short supply in a town like Halifax, but Video Difference has always been one of the most coveted, and one of the hardest to land. Owner Tom Michael put together a three-part process: A standard job application describing work experience, education and the like; a slightly altered […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Why some of us aren’t thrilled about IKEA’s return to Halifax
[Image-1] IKEA’s arrival in Halifax promises jobs, which, in a province and city with high unemployment, is appealing. But what sort of jobs? Perhaps because of its socialistic Scandinavian roots, IKEA is a bit kinder than its retail competitors in terms of wages and working conditions. For instance, IKEA prides itself on a relatively generous […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Mills closes its doors for the last time
Mills, the retail anchor of Spring Garden Road for almost 100 years, shut down Tuesday night. Given how often over Mills is cited as the exemplar awesome local company that proves downtown is a great place to do business, its closure is an ominous portent. If Mills can’t make a go of it, does that […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Record Store
In the cut-throat world of music retail, CD Plus has done well. Starting off as a mail-order company, then operating dozens of retail locations across Canada, it’s also an online store, too. The Barrington Street location stays vital with a staff that knows its stuff, and a nice cross-section of stock, from indie to jazz. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Go local on Spring Garden Road
Strolling down the most popular shopping district in Atlantic Canada, from Robie down to Brunswick—including side-streets bristling with boutiques—the sheer number of vital businesses provides an embarrassment of riches for Shoptalk. More than anywhere else in our fine city, we slam up against the limitation of space on this page. A street that provides a […]
Posted inLifestyle
A guide to Halifax’s second-hand bookstores
Back Pages 1526 Queen Street, 423-4750 A wee bookstore on busy Queen Street, its little storefront hides a large selection of non-fiction and fiction titles. The owner was away on vacation for a good chunk of August, but the nice lady at the counter said the shop carries, in addition to its history and literature, […]