Press Release

HaliMax Axe will be opening soon in Halifax. Steve Rex, the playoff champion, poses in the Kentville location.

HaliMac Axe Throwing will soon open at 1920 Brunswick St.

Owner Paul MacInnis shared with me how he and co-owner Adrian Beaton opened their first location, Jack Axes, is St. John’s, N.L., in 2016 and followed up with HaliMac on Main Street in Kentville last October.

There is already an established bar known for axe throwing, Timber Lounge at 2712 Agricola Street in Halifax, but it is unrelated to HaliMac.

HaliMac is affiliated with the World Axe Throwing League and, in a playoff last week in Kentville, Steve Rex of Kentville was crowned as its champion. Rex will be joined by regular season champ, Fred Ansems, also of Kentville, on Dec. 15 as they compete in the World Axe Throwing Championship in Chicago, Ill. The championship is being broadcast in the United States on ESPN but I was unable to find out if a Canadian channel would be broadcasting it as well.

MacInnis said it is “a powerful social experience,” people put down their phones and just interact. The owners say they’ll accept birthday parties, team building or a chance for friends to get together.

The kitchen will be run by their neighbour in St. John’s, Mustang Sally’s Flaming Grill, which specializes in menu items like tacos, nachos and stir fries. It will also have 12 taps dedicated to locally produced beers and ciders. MacInnis said they are aiming to open in mid-December and are working hard to hit that target.

Here are some other retail highlights and happenings:

• Maritime Express Cider Co. opened its doors last week at 325 Main St. in Kentville. The small-batch ciders produced on site all have railway-themed names. The location also has a tap room with a snack menu.
• Private licenced liquor store Bishop’s Cellar is expanding early in the New Year. It is adding 1,400 square feet to the current Lower Water Street store. The addition will allow Bishop’s Cellar to streamline online order process, expand product selection and improve the layout of the store.
• MY Asian Market opened a few weeks ago on Granville Street, across from Metro Park.
• Stirling Farm Markets is opening a location in Bedford. Stirling has had a seasonal trailer on Bedford Highway but is now in the process of renovating the former abandoned gas station at 873 Bedford Highway, near Mill Cove, into a year-round location.
• Miniso Canada is set to open a second location in Halifax. It has started renovating a space in the Halifax Shopping Centre. The Chinese variety store, which recently opened on Brenton Street, entered the Canadian market in 2016 and has already opened 48 locations. The company has stated it has targeted opening 500 stores by the end of 2020.
• May Garden has opened its newest location inside Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax. May Garden Fusion Chinese is the latest addition for the local Chinese restaurant. In July 2017, it opened its new banquet hall restaurant in Bedford at Mill Cove. The restaurant also moved its original, 1976 Beaver Bank Road, location to Sackville Drive earlier this year. May Garden will soon have another two other locations — a second Bedford location and one in downtown Dartmouth.
• The Ivany Campus of NSCC is getting a full service Tim Horton’s. The plan is to be open in January. It will be located just inside the doors closest to Pleasant Street, not far from the Dartmouth General Hospital, which lost its Tim Horton’s earlier this year when food choices were changed at multiple Nova Scotia Health Authority sites.
• Fans of Sushi Shige will want to go for a visit before it closes its Granville Street location Friday. Sushi Shige is planning to open again but at this point, it does not have a new location secured.
• Cilantro The Cooks Shop, which already operates a kitchenware store in Blockhouse, has now come to Burnside. It has teamed up with the recently opened restaurant supply store Vega Direct. There is a shop at 221 Joseph Zatzman Dr. Both stores are open to the public Monday to Friday 9 a.m to 5 p.m.