Relic reborn
Former Smooth Herman’s bar transitions into new Cape Breton Farmers’ Market
A drumstick. Dusty beer bottles. Dozens of coat check tickets.
Those were just some of the items contractors found recently inside the former Smooth Herman’s cabaret nightclub, more than eight years after it closed suddenly in March 2010.
The space — at nearly 10,000 square feet — is undergoing a $985,000 renovation to accommodate the Cape Breton Farmers’ Market. The market outgrew its current home in Coxheath and had been looking for a new location closer to downtown Sydney for most of the past decade.
There have been snags along the way, however.
Despite the federal funding announcement on June 16 and work beginning a couple weeks later, a major delay in August has forced the market to move back its official opening date to Dec. 1. It originally intended to open for the first time on Oct. 6.
“We couldn’t put the HVAC system on the roof so now it’s being put down on the ground, on the side (of the building),” said Tom Drover, a foreman on the project for general contractor, AuCoin Renovations Ltd.
Early on, there was a lot of effort in tearing down the levels and many steps Smooth Herman’s was infamous for, especially for those in an inebriated state.
It was like a blast from the past, with items from the bar — empty beer bottles, a matchbook, and the names of local bands on the nightclub’s walls — all found in relatively good condition.
“It’s like you could walk in and just reopen a bar again,” Drover said with a laugh.
Two levels will remain as part of the new farmers’ market, said Pauline Singer, manager of the Cape Breton Farmers’ Market.
The lower level will feature 35 to 40 vendors offering produce, eggs, meat products, crafts and artwork, while the upper level will be home to 13 food vendors and a dining area with a capacity for 60 to 70 people.
The food vendors will have custom-built stalls and they will also have access to a large, commercial-grade kitchen with four ovens and a large preparation area, Singer said.
“We want to keep all of the food vendors to one area because we want to have better ventilation and it’s going to give them easier access to the commercial kitchen,” she said.
“Each (food vendor) unit will be equipped with food-safe walls that can be disinfected, so we’re kind of upping our game as far as food safety goes.”
It’s a major change from the cramped, “elbow-to-elbow” room in the existing farmers’
market, said Singer, which is about 6,400 square feet in area.
The farmers’ market has signed a 20-year lease of the space. The upstairs portion of the building houses the Old Triangle Irish Alehouse operated by the market’s new landlords, Phil Dubinsky and Dianne MacPhee.
The space will be made more energy-efficient, therefore reducing the market’s operating costs.
A store selling produce, dry goods and crafts in a space of about 260 square feet will be open three to four days a week.
It is being set up in the same space that was used for Smooth Herman’s coat check room. And the former DJ booth is being transitioned into the market’s office.
The farmers’ market will be fully wheelchair-accessible, with ramps to the upper level and five gender neutral standalone washrooms.
Efforts are being made to preserve what can be salvaged from the Smooth Herman’s era, Singer said.
That includes using the floorboards from the dance floor as the new counter top in the market store. Wood has been pried off the walls and will be repurposed to design vendor stall displays on the main floor.
Other artsy projects are also in the works, she said.
“One of our vendor artists is going to do a collage with all the coat check tickets.
“We’re going to keep the payphone that’s out in the lobby. And any signs we’ve found, we’re keeping those too. We’re trying to keep as much memorabilia as we can because it was a big part of the community.” During its peak season, roughly 1,000 people will travel through the market on any given Saturday.
The not-for-profit co-operative is the only year-round farmers’ market on the island.