Sour Me Sweet Confectionary Opens In North End Halifax
HALIFAX — North End Halifax will get a little bit sweeter next week when Rebecca St Cyr opens Sour Me Sweet Confectionary on Agricola Street.
St Cyr’s says her candy shop will “have a little bit of everything,” including “lots of things you wouldn’t find everywhere.”
Giving a virtual tour of the freshly decorated shop on June 10, St Cyr circled the room showing off the sweets she has in stock.
Among the confections were exotic Kit Kat flavours (key lime pie, anyone?), four types of Mountain Dew, pickle-flavoured cotton candy, some A&W dessert topper, and even hunks of chocolate made to look like marijuana.
“It’s kind of like having a plenitude of flavours of different kinds of candy. And I’m always trying to find new things that people haven’t discovered yet,” St Cyr said.
St Cyr started Sour Me Sweet in late December as an online store selling candy individually, as well as in monthly subscription packages. But the Vancouver native says her plan was always to open a physical location.
She’s worked in a candy shop before and said she loves the energy and excitement that comes with the business.
It’s a very creative industry and it’s just, like, fun,” she said. “And it’s very positive. It’s so nice being in an environment where you can just make people happy.”
“I think candy is one of those things; it sort of it defies age. I think it’s just fun all around.”
St Cyr and her partner moved to Halifax most recently from Banff, Alberta, but they have lived all over the country, including in Toronto, where they ran Chapter 11 pub in Toronto’s Cabbagetown.
She says North End Halifax reminds her of the trendy Toronto neighbourhood: friendly people and a real community feeling. She’s loved getting to know the area and seeing people’s excitement for a new candy store in the area.
On June 15, Sour Me Sweet will open its doors for an informal soft launch. Then, from June 17-19, the shop will have its grand opening.
She says she’s optimistic people will come check the place out, especially now that summer has arrived and the Covid-19 pandemic is beginning to recede.
“It’s a totally different vibe out there now,” she says. “[People are] ready to explore and try new things and we’re going to be a new thing so they will be curious. I’m hoping that’s the case and that people will be coming out.”
St Cyr (whose favourite candy is a chocolate bar called Whatchamacallit) says she wants her store to be an environment that is energetic, positive and welcoming.
“It’s so much about creating that welcoming environment for people — that is like really like my focus. I want to create that vibe [where you feel] a welcome at the door, with great music and a good tone,” she says.
“And to try to be as diverse as we can with a plentitude of candy,” she says with a laugh.