FEATURE -- NORTH END: Some merchants who have moved to the neighbourhood say it has untapped potential as a trendy and diverse alternative to downtown.
By Nadine LaRoche <nlaroche@dal.ca>
Posted: Nov. 18, 2005
"When you look at what's happening on Agricola Street, there's an opportunity for real diverse, exciting businesses to exist here," says stylist Fred Connors. Photo: Nadine LaRoche.
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When Fred Connors moved his combination hair salon, café and art gallery from Barrington Street to Agricola Street in September 2004, he says he noticed vital businesses in the North End that most Halifax residents didn't know about.
"I thought, 'There's a very specialized creative and diverse community working in this neighbourhood and people are generally not aware of it,'" says Connors. "I should do something about it."
For a year, Connors waited for his busy schedule to let up, realized it never would, and decided to take action. He passed out flyers to businesses on Robie and Agricola streets between Cunard and Young streets, asking for North End merchants to form an association.
On Nov. 14, the merchants had their first meeting. Connors says the attendees voiced a concern with the increased prostitution and drug activity in the area, a desire to create a brand for the community, and the need to promote the businesses in the area. The merchants also agreed to seek funding from the municipality, says Connors
"Right now we are an interested group of merchants who possibly share the same ideas, ideals and visions for the community," says Connors.
Connors' self-titled business, located in a former bank branch building, is part of a handful of trendy retailers popping up in the North End, an area long seen as disadvantaged with slow growth. Along with Connors' salon called Fred, the furniture store Statement Design and a series of antique shops have arrived on Agricola Street over the past few years.
Recently, business owners have also opened up shops along Gottingen Street -- a few blocks down from Agricola Street -- including a comic book shop, a record store and an artsy café.
The Evolution Cabaret, which will open Friday night, gives North End bar patrons a place to drink after 2:00 a.m. Photo: Nadine LaRoche.
Connors says Agricola Street offers a retail experience that is different from any of Halifax's typical shopping hubs. He says the area pairs hip and modern with ethnic and low-key, creating a unique business community. In the block surrounding Fred, there is a Greek Pub, a European import food store, a Middle-Eastern grocery and a Korean cafe.
"There isn't any sort of uniqueness or diversity to the business community on Spring Garden Road," he says. "When you look at what's happening on Agricola Street, there's an opportunity for real diverse, exciting businesses to exist here."
Ray Frizzell, the owner of Statement Design, says the North End can become a vibrant part of Halifax now that new businesses are gravitating toward the area. He says the merchants in his community provide an alternative to downtown shopping, and also keep consumers in the city.
"I definitely think it has the potential to become an up-and-coming part of Halifax," he says. "I really like that because it makes the city feel a little bigger. And yet we're not drawing people out of the city. It's still a draw within the city."
Dawn Sloane, the municipal councillor for downtown Halifax up to North Street, agrees with Frizzell. She says new trendy shops in the North End means shoppers won't have to leave the Halifax peninsula to find what they want.
"People are sick of the malls now," she says. "There's nothing new and exciting there. And because of that, they want something that's a little more unique and I think that's what they're finding up here."
The North End's recent makeover goes further than just retail. Charles Hsuen, events and promotions manager at Club NRG on Gottingen Street, says new renovations to the club will keep patrons in the area.
Club NRG will open a cabaret on its top floor tonight, meaning the venue will stay open until 3:30 a.m. When the Marquee, the only cabaret nearby, began opening only occasionally earlier this year, bar patrons went to cabarets downtown after 2:00 a.m.
With a cabaret licence, the Evolution Cabaret on the upper level of Club NRG will remain open for an extra hour and a half.
Club NRG also added a restaurant to its complex just over a month ago. Hsuen says there are few places to eat in Halifax after the bars close, and the Blue Moon Bistro provides another option.
"We wanted to have everything under one roof," says Hsuen, adding that the new additions mean "you wouldn't have to resort to coming here, and then after 2 o'clock having to go downtown."
Frizzell says he hopes new businesses in the North End will counteract the negative reputation some people still hold for the community. Some Halifax residents refer to the North End as the dangerous part of Halifax, but Frizzell says the area is no different than the rest of the city. He hopes the new thriving businesses will shed a positive light on the community.
"Places like myself or Fred are a vote of confidence for the people of the North End and the potential of the North End," he says. "They add a certain vibrancy and diversity to the neighbourhood,"
The owner of Papa's Moustache barbershop on Agricola, which opened in 1968, says the new businesses in the North End will help to minimize drug problems known to exist in the area. Gary Langille says new stores liven up the community, boost traffic, and will hopefully reduce the drug scene.
"I think it's great having the trendy stores," he says. "I'm up for it 100 per cent. It beats a crack house if you know what I mean."
As more retailers move into the area, Sloane says, other businesses will have the confidence to follow suit.
"I hope that they help attract others to our community," she says. "And I think that's happening, little by little."
Connors says the success of his business will entice other merchants to set up shop in the North End. He says an acquaintance is developing plans to open a clothing store on Agricola Street.
Frizzell also says people are starting to see the North End as an option for either starting or relocating a business, and that he hopes it becomes a stable business community.
"I hope that people start to seek it out as a place to go in the city, as a destination for people that don't live here," says Frizzell. "And for the people that do live here, I hope that it just enriches their sense of neighbourhood and home."
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