Saint John Container Village Jumpstarts Big Moves For Local Small Businesses
SAINT JOHN – The Area 506 Waterfront Container Village in Saint John has just wrapped up its first year of operation. Of the 40 vendors that called the Village home for the summer, three have gone on to open permanent locations and another is opening a second location.
Ray Gracewood, president and founder of Area 506, said the space turned into a community and tourist attraction–as well as a spot to introduce people to what the city offers.
“From a vendor perspective, it was important for us to curate what we thought would be a really great, diverse group of companies that could both be a reflection of companies that operate within the province of New Brunswick, as well as other kinds of national or regional brands and companies,” Gracewood said.
The Container Village is made from 54 shipping containers that have been transformed into a small community for vendors and a summer-long concert series.
RELATED: Waterfront Container Village in Saint John Officially Opens
Forty Luxe The Label, The Vagabond Studios, and Elevate Studio were all vendors of Area 506 this summer who have gone on to open permanent locations. Candy World already has a location in Rothesay but after spending the summer at the village it is in the process of opening a second permanent location.
Forty Luxe The Label
Josée Forbes founded her athleisure-wear brand, Forty Luxe The Label, in August 2020.
“At that point, a lot of people were spending a lot of time at home and I kind of just realized that there was like this growing need and growing popularity of comfortable, easy-to-wear clothing,” said Forbes.
Forty Luxe The Label was primarily sold online until opening at Area 506. Although, since the start, Forbes has done pop-up events and had her clothing brand sold at Lordon for several months.
“The Container Village was basically my first somewhat permanent location of my own,” said Forbes. “As soon as I went down there for the first time, I was like, ‘wow, this would be a perfect first, or next step for me.'”
She said she immediately inquired about space and then started at the Village in mid-July.
Forbes did not stay until the end of the season at the Container Village because her new, permanent spot came earlier than she anticipated. She left her shipping container in mid-October and took the rest of the month to prepare her new location. Forty Luxe The Label’s new home opened on November 9 at 574 Rothesay Ave.
“It clearly was on my mind when I did go down to the Container Village that I kind of wanted to work towards this,” she said.
She said her experience at Area 506 opened her eyes to the strong local community she has supporting her brand and gave her the confidence she needed to open a full-fledged storefront.
Candy World
Terri Blanchard opened her first Candy World location last September in Rothesay. Over the summer, Candy World operated its second location–a seasonal spot at Area 506. Blanchard confirmed Candy World will be returning to the Container Village next season.
Blanchard said most of their customer base there was tourists and local people, as cruise ship season started at the end of August.
Now, Candy World is in the process of opening a third location, at 80 McCallister Drive, in December.
The reason for opening the new location is to allow for more room. The new location is 4,000 square feet, which makes a difference compared to the shipping container, or even the Rothesay store, which is 1,200 square feet.
“A lot of people have had interest in the Rothesay store. They come from Hampton, Sussex, Grand Bay, even St. Stephen,” said Blanchard. “East makes sense because that’s a main area. A lot of people go shopping and stuff.”
Blanchard said these three locations will be the sole three in town.
Container Village a ‘business catalyst’
Gracewood said Area 506 wanted to curate an experience for people visiting the village but also wanted the area to be used as a “catalyst for businesses” to test out a “brick-and-mortar location.” He said the first summer of the Container Village exceeded expectations.
“It seemed to be a pretty good model for a lot of businesses that were looking to kind of take that next step,” said Gracewood.
Jessica Saulnier is an intern for Huddle. Send her feedback or tips: [email protected]
With files from Alex Graham.