Contentious bar patio approved in North End Halifax

HALIFAX, N.S. — It’s not a big backyard patio, but a co-owner of a North End Halifax pub said they are losing business big time by not having an outdoor space for customers in the summer.

Since the Narrows Public House at 2720 Gottingen St. is not on the waterfront and doesn’t have a patio (or air conditioning), customers have been going elsewhere.

“We are about $15,000 a week less in sales in the summer, so about $60,000 less cash flow a month coming into the business so that basically means we go into debt in the summer,” said co-owner Myles Baldwin.

They’re looking to build a patio that would seat about 25 customers. Problem is, they’re operating in a 127-year-old municipally registered heritage property.

A patio on the back is considered a substantive amendment to the development agreement of owning a heritage home.  According to the staff report, the current agreement limits restaurant use to the interior main level, with three residential units on the upper floors.

Making changes to a heritage property like this requires public consultation and public hearing, which was held on Wednesday night in front of the Halifax and West Community Council.

HRM staff said on Wednesday that the patio will fit 25 customers (at a maximum 200 square metres) and music will not be allowed outside.Baldwin said they’re also looking to install an eight-foot fence and plan to locate the patio as far away as possible from their neighbours’ houses.

Baldwin said they haven’t had any complaints since they opened.

“We’ve been lucky enough to have no issues inside the building or outside the building,” he said.

By putting restrictions on the size of tables, hours of operation and more, Baldwin said they hope to minimize the noise and disruption for the neighbours.

It opened February 2022, but it took some time before that to restore the building and convert the main floor of the former bed and breakfast into an 80-seat restaurant.

Baldwin said it was very expensive to convert it to commercial standards and over $1 million went into the project, about $500,000 more than they anticipated.

“If we want to see houses like this preserved and we want to see this happening in the North End, then we’re going to need to make some exceptions and have some flexibility,” he said

A patio would help and they’re also looking into air conditioning, but that’s a really expensive add to an old house.

Some neighbours say not in that backyard

Several neighbours who were notified by mail about the project responded that they were concerned about the noise and disruption an outdoor patio would cause.

Lawyer David Wallbridge represented Elizabeth Pacey at Wednesday’s meeting. Pacey is heavily involved in heritage protection and owns property beside and behind the pub. He said “she will be dramatically impacted by the proposed patio.”

A bar patio does not belong in a residential backyard, Wallbridge said.

“A warm summer evening, you want to enjoy your backyard with your family … but next door, 38 people are drinking alcohol, that’s the proposal,” he said. The original application indicated a capacity of 38 people but that was altered to 25 to address noise concerns. 

Wallbridge said part of the reason why there haven’t been any formal complaints launched against the pub is because there has been no patio.

Another neighbour told the community council that he hasn’t launched any formal complaints but has brought noise complaints to the owners directly.

“We live in an urban community. We have to interact with each other,” said Coun. Shawn Cleary (Halifax West Armdale), who added that he was perplexed why a lawyer was present. “Rather than have neighbourly conversations about things, we go to extremes.”

He said the patio would provide more means for the restoration and maintenance of this heritage property and would be “a great addition to the neighbourhood.”

The community council approved the patio request.