Meeting the needs of the people
WhistleBerry Market & Eatery opens just off Trans-Canada Highway
SALT SPRINGS, N.S. — After months of planning and construction, the WhistleBerry Market & Eatery recently opened for business.
Located on Pleasant Valley Road in Salt Springs, just off exit 20 of the Trans-Canada Highway, work on the facility began last spring.
Owner Peter Zehr, along with his wife and son, moved to Pictou County almost two years ago from southern Ontario, where he had already been working in the industry.
“It’s a basic selection of groceries, some bulk food, baking supplies, bulk candies,” he said when asked what he has to offer customers. “We’re doing our own meats here — our own sausage, bacon, pork chops.”
The 8,800-square-foot facility has, among other things, grocery shelves, a deli, a grill and sit-down area for diners, and an offering of various items from Durhambased Dalhousie Maple Products. The day before WhistleBerry Market & Eatery opened, a small construction crew was doing last-minute work on the outside of the structure, while inside the building, employees were stocking shelves, pricing items and putting sausage through the smokehouse, to make sure everything would be ready to go when the doors opened Feb. 15.
Tourist traffic in the summer months could be a boon to this type of business, but Zehr maintains the primary target is the people who live in Pictou County.
“We want to be here for the locals, we want to meet the needs of the people here,” he said. “We’ll have meats and a nice deli where they can get cold cuts, or perhaps fresh cheese sliced for them.”
He added they eventually want to develop a relationship with local food and preserves producers.
For now, he plans to be open Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m., but that could change depending on the response from consumers. At the moment, he’s working with eight employees at the business.
“We plan on just being an ordinary store for ordinary people.”