Yacht Club Social Opens In Halifax
Halifax-It’s hard to think of two historical events that have impacted the alcohol business the way Covid-19 and prohibition have. Despite being a century apart, both forced the industry to adapt to a new reality and never-before-seen challenges.
The owners of Halifax Distilling Company, and makers of J.D. Shore rum, have been affected by both but bounced back each time.
In 2020, right when Covid-19 changed our lives forever, Arla Johnson and her wife Julie Shore shut down their cocktail lounge, which is attached to the distillery. It was a loss for Lower Water Street, as the venue was a popular place for music, events, and rentals.
“We had a great bar; we had a lot of events,” recalls Johnson. “The first year we had live jazz. What happened is we just got so busy and then Covid hit and we shut down the bar and restaurant component altogether.”
This past weekend the space reopened under a new name: the Yacht Club Social. Halifax Distilling Company signed a partnership with the owners of The Daily Grind Café & Bar, Scott MacLean and David Flemming, who will run the bar.
“We found these great guys, or they found us, and they’re taking over that side of the business for us,” Johnson said.
With the two men running the Yacht Club, Johnson and Shore can focus on distilling their J.D. Shore rum. Johnson said the new bar has an amazing vibe and predicts it will be a “happening” spot in downtown Halifax.
“There’s going to be some pretty good dancing going on in there… when it gets going. It will be fun [and] well-needed for downtown. It’s got this really cool vibe to it. The bar that’s been in there now was the old bar that was back there from when Mother Tuckers restaurant was there. Like a really cool, wooden, classic, bar.”
Johnson and Shore moved to PEI from North Carolina after visiting and falling in love with the area. It was on the island 15 years ago that they started distilling potato vodka. They moved the company to Halifax seven years ago and made the switch to producing rum, which is a more popular drink in Atlantic Canada.
In a sense, Halifax Distilling Company and J.D. Shore rum has continued a lineage that was put to an abrupt halt 100 years ago.
Julie Shore’s great, great grandfather was a North Carolina master distiller named I.C. Shore who started his business in the 1890s. I.C. faced many hurdles in the early 1900s as the prohibition movement began taking a foothold in American politics.
He even incorporated his own town, called Shore, in North Carolina, to keep his production legal (the town no longer exists). Then, in 1920, prohibition shut him down.
“When prohibition happened, her family went into tobacco farming. So Julie’s the first person to come back into distilling in four generations,” said Johnson.
“It was always in her blood. She grew up with all these great stories. It was like it was in her calling. She thinks all of her ancestors are helping her during the distilling process. I think she prays over every batch.”
Johnson says making the switch from vodka to rum years ago was a profitable business decision. Especially popular is J.D. Shore’s cream liqueurs.
“Our golden egg is the cream liqueurs. Those have just gotten over the moon. Julie made a beautiful rum cream,” says Johnson. “Our dream is when people open their cupboards they no longer see that old bottle of baileys, they see a nice bottle of JD Shore.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].