When he first took on the task of running a community newspaper, the most daunting task in front of Chad Pelley was finding the stories to fill the pages.

He looks back on that fear now with a grin on his face.

"When I started the Overcast, I was concerned with how I was going to come up with 50 or 60 stories every month. But I've left so much on the cutting-room floor."

Chad Pelley is communications manager for Food First NL, the province's food security organization. (CBC)

Five years and 4,000 stories later, Pelley is shutting down the monthly print publication and taking time to tackle new projects.

The Overcast was an alternative newspaper focused on the arts and culture scene of St. John's. Pelley grew the paper over the years and built a network of contributors with diverse points of view on a wide range of topics.

This is almost a call for somebody else to pick up the torch. - Chad Pelley

Despite the declining revenues in print media across the country, Pelley said the decision to fold the paper had nothing to do with money.

"I want to be very clear, this was not a financial decision," he told CBC News. "It's been five years and it's been the best five years of my life really. Great job. But it also doesn't turn off."

Pelley said the paper was small enough that the overhead costs were never a problem. But the downside to a small publication was the hours he kept — plenty of late nights, early mornings and weekends.

He's spent the better part of the past year balancing the Overcast with his job at the non-profit group Food First NL. He is also a published author, with three novels published since 2009, one of which was adapted for a feature film.

As he shuts down the paper, Pelley hopes somebody else will fill the void.

"This is almost a call for somebody else to pick up the torch."

Restaurateur hopes Burger Battle lives on

Michelle Leblanc, owner of Chinched Bistro, would love to see somebody continue the work Pelley started five years ago, especially when it comes to an annual promotion the paper ran.

Every February, the Overcast would recruit restaurants to join its Burger Battle.

This year, 21 restaurants are vying for the title of best burger in St. John's. But more than a competition, the promotion is a way to get people inside restaurants during what is usually a dead season.

Michelle LeBlanc, co-owner of Chinched Bistro in St. John's, says the paper's annual burger competition drove new business to her restaurant every year. (CBC)

"It's something kind of exciting and fun to do over the month of February," Leblanc said. "The winters get long and sort of not overly interesting sometimes in the restaurant industry, so we like to spruce things up a little bit."

Leblanc said they sold 400 burgers last year at Chinched Bistro, many to people who had never visited the restaurant before. For that, she thanks the Overcast.

"It's a paper that brings something different to the city. It helps represents a lot of the small business community."

Grant for non-profits may live on

Scott Crocker, executive director of the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, was also sad to hear the news on Tuesday.

His organization was the recipient of the $10,000 Albedo Grant in 2015 from the Overcast.

The money went towards developing a new social program helping to put young adults with autism spectrum disorder to work in gardens around the city.

"We were over the moon, because [we are] a non-profit. Money is tight and there's so much we want to do, and it's never enough, but everything helps."

Scott Crocker, executive director of the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, says that without a grant from the Overcast, the society would have struggled to establish its community garden. (CBC)

The money helped establish a 36-bed community garden, where clients of the Autism Society go to work. Crocker and his group also established a mobile team, available to work in the community for anybody that needs help in their gardens.

"It gets our employees with ASD out into the community, working, learning new skills, seeing people, meeting people and all of that is really important to their success."

The Overcast had a great run, but the runner's high is giving way to aching legs and visions of a simpler life. <a href="https://t.co/0lFcRE1zMJ">https://t.co/0lFcRE1zMJ</a> —@theovercastnl

Without the grant from the Overcast, Crocker said, they would have struggled to get the program off the ground.

Pelley said he is planning to speak with the people who fund the grant, with hopes they can still pick a recipient for 2019, and possibly transfer it to another business to keep it alive.

Five years in the making, Pelley said he'll always look back fondly on his time running the community paper. Now he's focusing more on his new job and hopes to get back to writing books.

"I'm very sad and nostalgic, but also euphoric to have my time back."

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