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TRURO, N.S. —

Truro pizza chef Ali Naser is all set to reopen his restaurant as soon as the paperwork is finalized.

“My life’s back. I want to see my customers back,” said Naser. “Thank you everyone for supporting me, I appreciate that a lot.”

Naser said he is waiting on the province to check his equipment, including his fridge and ovens, before clearing him to reopen the restaurant at 1 Commercial St. He expects to be up and running in the next two or so weeks.

His freshly-redone restaurant will include an air exchange unit to keep his kitchen cool, as well as new walls and floors.

Naser closed his restaurant in January 2019 ahead of the renovation work carried out by building owners Queen’s Realty. In the meantime, he ran a small pizza shop inside Truro’s Cougar Dome and spent time with his family and partner Nadia Jardine, even going fishing last summer.

“He’s excited,” said Jardine. “It was a little stressful, but we got through it.”

The building housing Naser’s pizza parlour received a new foundation and its upstairs floors were converted to offices. The renovations were part of a larger plan called The Common Works to spruce up the structure at 1-5 Commercial St. It houses several businesses, including Naser’s restaurant.

The Common Works’ goal was restoring the heritage building to how it first looked, as well as adding 10,000 square ft. of retail space and another 20,000 sq. ft. of office space.

Naser himself was pleased with his renovated restaurant, saying Queen’s Realty did a “very good job.”

Also pleased is Scott Hartlen, who owns the Supplement King store. With the building renovations completed, Hartlen’s store moved two doors down and is now next door to Ali Naser’s Pizza.

“The upgrades that have been done to the building are amazing for downtown,” said Hartlen. “I think it’s really going to brighten up the downtown core on the west end.”

Hartlen has already relocated his inventory to the new store and is waiting for the new sign, which will be in keeping with the building’s heritage status.

Naser said he liked the new building “100 per cent.”