Downtown Dartmouth has a brand new craft beer store and brewpub.

Battery Park, a collaboration between North Brewing, Ace Burger and Brooklyn Warehouse, just opened on an already bustling block of Ochterloney Street.

Business has been "amazing," said co-owner George Christakos.

"It's exceeded our expectations. This is a pretty special place to do business. The people of Dartmouth support their own."

In fact, Battery Park is the latest in a string of independent food and retail shops in the area, said Tim Rissesco, executive director of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Association.

"We are getting a food scene," he said.

"People are never going to have a reason to go anywhere else, but downtown Dartmouth."

The two-level business has a ground-floor craft beer store that carries beer from North Brewing. Starting in the new year, specialty batches of beer will be made there. The upstairs is home to the eatery.

Reasonable rents attracting businesses to area

Rissesco says reasonable rents are attracting first-time entrepreneurs and he's busy fielding calls.

"It's a lot of playing matchmaker, trying to find the right spot to fit people in," Rissesco said.

Christakos says the reasonable cost of housing in downtown Dartmouth is also a factor.

"There's a huge influx of young families moving here," he said. "I think they want the amenities that go along with a thriving neighbourhood, so we're seeing a lot more beautiful, unique businesses pop up."