Making a move
McDonald’s setting up shop in new building on former Pine View Inn site in Coldbrook
The golden arches in Coldbrook will be on the move in 2022.
McDonald’s is moving from its space inside the Shell/Needs convenience store on Highway 1 to a new building on the other side of Highway 101 on the former Pine View Inn site. The restaurant had outgrown its current location, which opened in 1999.
“It’s exciting,” said Bob
Smith, CEO and president of Jus-Mar Investments Limited, which owns and operates eight McDonald's, including stores in Sackville, Bedford, Bedford Commons, Windsor, New Minas, Coldbrook, Greenwood and Digby.
“The Coldbrook site was built 22 years ago for a volume back 22 years ago. As the population increases, the need for more space is a required entity to survive in today’s business.”
Smith said the company started looking at new sites more than two years ago, but the visibility, traffic patterns and growing population base of Coldbrook made the location near the highway appealing.
The site has been vacant since the fire at the former
Pine View Inn hotel on Jan. 12, 2012.
The property and new McDonald’s building are owned by Parsons Investment Ltd., which purchased the six acres of land in 2016 to go with the four acres it had previously owned.
“Being on the 101 and the 1, it’s the major intersection of the Valley, so we always knew that it had a lot of potential,” said Scott Hearn, vice-president of real estate and development. “It’s great to see the first development, but there’s definitely more to come.”
While nothing else is confirmed for the property, Hearn said the company has had talks with different groups interested in the site.
Parsons also recently purchased 30 acres of land that attaches to the site, following along the highway towards New Minas.
While Jus-Mar Investments Limited doesn’t own the building, it is responsible for the cost of the equipment inside. It has decided not to move equipment from the existing locale. With the supply chain issues brought on by the pandemic, Smith has witnessed prices continue to increase along the process.
“Our costs, basically at this point in time, (are) a moving target.”
Construction began in the spring and Jus-Mar Investments is hoping to be open in March, but Smith said that could be pushed back with supply chain issues.
The 4,365-square-foot building will include seating for 65 people inside, while a patio will accommodate 10 more outside. The building is more than twice the size of the current location.
“Our staff in Coldbrook have worked in a small environment for a long time and it’s now time for a change,” said Smith, noting how happy he was for the employees. “The building is brick and mortar. It’s the people inside that really make the brand.”
Smith said the company anticipates the staff doubling in size with the new building, which does present another challenge.
“There’s no question, staffing today is probably one of our biggest challenges,” he said. “It’s right across the country.”
And it’s not just about finding the people to work, given the housing situation in the Annapolis Valley.
“We can attract staff, but we can’t house them,” Smith said, noting the hardest spots for Jus-Mar Investments are in Windsor, Coldbrook and Digby. “It is disheartening in (the) sense that we have people that want to work, but they have no place to live.”
The new Coldbrook restaurant will have a side-by-side drive-thru but won’t be operating 24 hours a day, although it could in the future if the customer demand was there.
Smith has lived in the Annapolis Valley for 33 years and is passionate about the company and the new location.
“It will be nice to see a brand new store, state of the art,” he said. “It will be the most current and most modern store in Atlantic Canada as we speak, when it opens.”