Springhouse makes most of move
Two years ago, Springhouse moved from the Halifax Seaport to Gottingen Street.
I checked in with co-owner Seth Graham about how things have changed.
“When we first moved to Gottingen from the Seaport, we were really excited to finally have our own space to offer dine-in and host our nutritional and cooking classes,” Graham said.
“As we settled into the space in early 2019, we refined the dine-in experience and expanded our menu. It was only 13 months between opening our doors on Gottingen and then closing them due to the arrival of COVID in 2020. We cancelled our sold-out classes and closed our doors for a couple months to stay home and brainstorm.”
Graham said they quickly realized they would not be able to pay the rent with only a couple tables six feet apart in a small dining room.
“We would need to do something else to create revenue with that space.”
They recognized there were limited grocery options in the immediate neighbourhood and that there were plant-based products that were just hard to find in the Maritimes. They reached out first to small local businesses that had lost some sales options when farmers markets were closed and worked with wholesalers to bring in natural food items.
“Over the past six months we have invested heavily in our online shop and our retail selection, installing wall-to-wall shelving, a self-serve freezer and fridge for produce,” Graham said.
“We now stock hundreds of products, including all the grocery essentials, plus locally made goods and specialty vegan items. We continue to create meals from scratch in our kitchen, with a menu of items made fresh to order, as well as frozen take-home meals and our healthy desserts.”
Online shopping offers options for local pickup and delivery or Canada-wide shipping.
This July will mark 10 years for Springhouse, with an everevolving business model that started with selling kale chips at a Seaport market table.
“This most recent pivot was not our decision, but we embraced it and we are now very happy,” said Graham.
“It hasn't been easy, and we don't feel we're quite out of the financial risk that so many small businesses are experiencing, but we are far better off than we would be if we hadn't made the change,” he said.
“It is so rewarding to serve people who live in the neighbourhood who just need the basics like some beans and an onion for their evening meal, along with vegans who have been craving candy bars or missing fish sauce and find the plant-based versions with us.”
Springhouse is at 2290 Gottingen St. and springhousemarket.ca.
HERE ARE MORE RETAIL HAPPENINGS AND UPDATES:
A sign went up this week at the corner of Sackville and Market streets: “The new Maxwell's Plum, opening soon, new ownership/new menu.” The previous version closed in August.
The Old Apothecary, most recently located in the Alexander Keith's Building, has closed.
“I still had our team counting on me to make it work. I still had so many ideas yet realized. But with each passing day, no matter how hard I worked on keeping a positive mindset and forging ahead, we were falling further and further behind,” read an Instagram post Friday.
“The decision to close the doors on a dream is never an easy one. It is not taken lightly. I will be riddled with ‘ what ifs' for the days and months ahead.”
• Mary Brown's is opening in a couple of months near the Canadian Tire in Spryfield.
• HFX Vinyl opened at 477 Cobequid Rd. and offers a wide selection of vinyl rolls and more for crafting. Plans include classes for the popular crafting appliance Cricut.
• Sustainable activewear shop Phitcetera has opened at 1201 Larry Uteck Blvd. in Bedford.
• Black Sheep is open in its new home in the Brewery Market on Lower Water Street, replacing the Red Stag, which closed last year.
• Lovly Juicery has replaced the Juice Press Inc. at 656 Bedford Hwy.
• Mediterra Kitchen will be opening soon at 111 Cobequid Rd. in Lower Sackville. It's described as a family-owned restaurant serving a mix of Mediterranean dishes.
• Nova Mart is open at 266 Bedford Hwy. It is a produce market, grocery, bakery and a restaurant, along with a meat market. It will have international and halal grocery, and the meat comes from its own farm.
• Mike's No Frills in Spryfield is now Dylan's No Frills. That's relevant if you are looking for it in an app.
• The only local locations left for Aldo and its sister store, Call It Spring, are in Halifax Shopping Centre. Meanwhile, Moneysworth & Best is completely gone from Atlantic Canada after being a staple of malls for years