There’s a booming sense of community in downtown Dartmouth and people are flocking across the bridge to get a taste.
It’s a feeling that’s triggered a surge of entrepreneurs to bring some business light, to the ‘darkside’.
“Downtown Dartmouth is awesome. It’s a cozy, friendly environment and we’re loving the vibe that’s downtown and people really seem open to the idea of eating local and fresh ingredients,” said Roz Wilson-Oliver, co-owner of Souper Duper Soup.
Local ingredients are the focus of the Dartmouth food crawl, a collaboration between 18 eateries in the area.
“It’s amazing. I’m so excited for today, especially when you can sample all the different tastes and see what’s good,” said food crawler, Becky Davison.
Hundreds of people marched through the cold temperatures to explore the food and beverage shops in the neighborhood.
A father and son Creperie shop that opened up just four short months ago were part of the crawl.
“We’re so excited with the support, I just can’t say it enough the support of the community,” said Max Cook, co-owner of Portland Street Creperie.
The supportive community has been opening its arms to people from near and far, including New Zealander Mike Noakes.
When he moved to Canada with his family, he struggled to find a replacement for the traditional ‘kiwi pie’.
“I moved here in December 2011 and about three months later I had a bit of a hankering for a pie. I tried one of the local pies and it wasn’t quite what I was looking for so I made one,” said Noakes.
He shared them with his friends and family, and shortly after, Humble Pie was born.
“We’ve gone through stages from 150 pies to 300, to 500, to 700; and now we’re knocking on the door of about a thousand pies a week,”said Noakes.
The pies have had a warm welcome from a community that’s opened up shop for businesses of all flavors and backgrounds.
“It’s really good to bring a piece of home to another country,” said Noakes.