Colleen from the former Perfect Pour has now opened her own place, fittingly called Colleen’s Place at 245 Waverley at the bottom of Montebello.

The Pizza Corner game has a new entrant, Rugova Pizza is now open on Blowers right at Argyle.

Pizza Girls is now open at the plaza on Main St at Forest Hills parkway extension

UK based outdoors retailer Mountain Warehouse opened their store in Halifax Shopping Centre this week.

The Spare Room Public House the replacement for The British Bulldog is now open at the start of Cole Harbour Rd.

A foot long of bah humbug as the last day for the Subway on Portland Street in Downtown Dartmouth is closing its doors on Christmas Eve. I hear staff will be redistributed to other locations.

This week I had my last ever Christmas visit to The Newfoundland Store. It closes in February due to retirement. It has been on Willow almost 50 years, and I believe it was neighborhood grocery in the same family since 1917. The property has already been sold to a new owner and I have heard it will become some sort of eatery.

After nearly 5 years on Barrington the charming The Old Apothecary is on the move.They are taking over the space in the Historic Brewery Market recently occupied by Coffee Matters. They will make the transition sometime in January as their lease expires at the end of next month. They also have a location at 5151 Terminal Rd.

Cineplex will be sold to UK based Cineworld so expect some changes to our cinema experience in 2020

Envy in Park Lane moved down the hall taking over the space that previously held by their sister store Pseudio

Roll the Dice on Quinpool is now re-branded as the Boardwalk Cafe & Bar.

Elaine Cain describes her food as “a taste of soul food with a Caribbean twist.”

The owner/operator of Shirley & Novelee’s Catering and Take Out, Cain first opened her retail food business in 2018 on Caledonia Road in Dartmouth but, after a year, she decided to close that location due to a lack of foot traffic.

Foot traffic isn’t a problem now for Cain who, last month, brought her business to the Community YMCA at 2269 Gottingen St.

With the all the event and activity at the YMCA bringing people into the building and the diverse neighbourhood nearby, she says, “people are around constantly, all day.”

She says the kids after basketball gravitate to the hot dogs, fries and poutine while the neighbourhood folks tend to go for her Caribbean curries, jerk chicken and patties. Either way, she says, they are going to get a good-sized serving at a good price. She said she wants everyone to see colour and comfort in what she serves them.

Cain named the eatery after her late mother and sister. “They are inspirational to me, they make me come to work everyday.”

Cain, who has been catering events for a couple decades and regularly hosted large Sunday suppers, said her mother would always say: “You are going to turn my house into a restaurant someday.”

Today Shirley & Novelee’s is a family affair in both inspiration and perspiration, with Cain’s children helping with the business. Even the food is inspired by her family with Shirley Caesar Salad, which was her mother Shirley’s favourite dish and is an homage to the gospel singer Shirley Caesar. There is also Cham’s Chili Dog in honour of her brother.

Shirley and Novelee’s is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and catering is still available. Soon customers will be able to order via online ordering apps.

and wishing all of you a fantastic holiday season, I’ll continue to publish next week but it might be a tiny update!