SHELBURNE, N.S. —
The fallout from the pandemic is proving to be a win for downtown Shelburne, with new businesses setting up shop in the historic South Shore community.
“Things are revitalizing. There were a lot of businesses that couldn’t make it through the pandemic, now we have a new restaurant, two new bed and breakfasts, a soap shop and a tattoo place,” says Trasie Sands, the new owner of The Whirligig bookstore.
“It just feels that Water Street is finally going to be more lively than it has been in a while,” says Sands, who moved back to her hometown community almost two years ago. “I decided I would come back when the pandemic set in. I decided I didn’t want to live in Toronto anymore. This has always felt like home to me."
“It’s been an amazing community especially since restrictions have been lifted and there’s this great combination of people who are from here, those of us who have come back or are from somewhere else," she adds. "We all just want the same thing: to boost the economy, to make Shelburne a tourist location again. It already is, really, but to build it up again. I’m really thrilled to be a part of that."
Although operating a bookstore wasn’t what Sands had expected to do once she moved home, last year when the former owners of The Whirligig bookstore decided to close it down she had second thoughts.
“I went in and looked around and decided I didn’t want the Whirligig to close down so I took it over,” says Sands, who bought out the inventory, shelving and the name.
“I didn’t expect to be doing this but once I got the chance, no problem,” says Sands who re-opened The Whirligig at the end of July in her home at 142 Water Street, a few doors down from its former location. So far, the bookstore occupies one room in the historic house, which was built in 1867. ”Eventually it will be the whole first floor,” Sands says. “It’s a work in progress.”
Sands has “a little bit of everything” on her shelves. “It seems like mysteries go quickly. I have a lot of mystery, suspense, thrillers, regular fiction and literary fiction, a Canadiana section and a local interest section and I’m working on my rare book section,” she says.
Meanwhile, not far from The Whirligig on Water Street is the recently-opened Emerald Light kitchen and bar owned and operated by Shelburne native Brendan Pippy.
It was a combination of things that led to Pippy’s decision to open the eatery.
“It was a 'the pandemic changed my whole life' kind of thing. It was something I wanted to do 10 years from now. I always thought Shelburne was destined to build again a few years down the road and I was planning on traveling, getting experience and bringing it all back to the community," says Pippy. "When the pandemic hit, the population started to grow in the second half. It started happening fast. People moving here, people were talking, this is the time, an opportunity.”
Pippy has studied tourism management at the NSCC and worked in the restaurant hospitality industry for seven years before opening The Emerald Light in June.
Two of those summers were spent bartending in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.
“It looks and feels just like Shelburne,” says Pippy. “It’s very much a tourism town and I’m looking at it and thinking if St. Andrews can be like this, why can’t Shelburne? It’s the same size, the same population. The streets are a grid… people are taking more advantage there than they are here.”
Pippy, who is involved as a volunteer in the community on several fronts including the Osprey Arts Centre, the Guild Hall Market and the Shelburne events committee, sees a change in the energy of the community.
“Shelburne is really picking up. Everybody has good ideas and more people are seeing what can be done here. I think pessimism is on its way out. I think development is coming.”
Pippy opened the Emerald Light on June 13. Its name is based on the folklore of colored doors. A green door represents traditional values of support for family, harmony among friends and contributing to a developing and prosperous community, says Pippy. “Everything I stand for,” he says.
The Emerald Light serves the “healthy side of comfort food with an emphasis on having quality drinks,” says Pippy. The best of the local craft breweries are served and all but two of the wines are Nova Scotian.
“We don’t just serve food and beverage here. We provide an experience that contributes to someone’s experience overall for living or visiting Shelburne so that’s really catching on,” says Pippy.
Attention to detail, attention to quality and just wanting to provide something new for the locals is Pippy’s mission.
“I heard a lot of feedback that people felt they had to leave Shelburne to treat themselves, to get something different. I didn’t really understand it. Why can’t it happen here?”
Pippy’s plan seems to be working.
“The reviews online are almost 100 percent five-star,” he says. “More and more people are finding out and choosing us to be their first recommendation for experience overall."
The Emerald Light is open five days a week and employs 11 people part-time. “Eventually I would like to be open seven days a week,” Pippy says.
As for the Whirligig bookstore, it is open six days a week.
