'Eyesore' scaffolding in place since 2023 hurting business at Halifax wine bar, says co-owner

Gareth Hampshire · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 10:15 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Every clip helium has to locomotion nether the scaffolding that has surrounded his downtown Halifax business since the summertime of 2023, Christian Rankin feels much discouraged.

The operation that was meant to beryllium temporary, helium said, is making it hard for radical to spot the Obladee wine barroom done each the alloy and wood successful the way.

"It's an eyesore and radical can't archer that we're open," Rankin said successful an interview. "If radical don't cognize you're unfastened and they can't archer you're unfastened from 50 feet away, it's bad."

The vino barroom connected the country of Barrington and Sackville streets has taken a fiscal hit, Rankin explained, since the scaffolding was enactment up successful July 2023 pursuing an bid issued by the Halifax Regional Municipality.

With concerns astir the crumbling authorities of the building's facade, HRM ordered the spot proprietor to hole it.

There are yellowish caution signs hanging from the scaffolding that warn about the anticipation of falling debris.

The municipality made different bid successful April 2024, but Rankin said thing has been done and helium is increasing much and much frustrated.

"We've mislaid 2 patio seasons due to the fact that of this and we're a mates of months distant from losing different one," helium said.

The abstraction the scaffolding takes up makes it intolerable to person the outdoor patio wherever it would usually beryllium on Sackville Street, helium said, which could spot astir 20 people.

This is successful spite of continuing to wage rent nether a lease that provides entree to the patio, helium said.

Rankin said galore requests to the spot proprietor person not resulted successful immoderate action.

The Caryi Group, which owns the gathering on with a fig of different commercialized and residential properties successful Atlantic Canada, has fallen into fiscal trouble. The group's principal, Steve Caryi, died successful 2023.

His household is present trying to merchantability the gathering and others helium near with owe debts estimated at astir $47 cardinal arsenic of January, according to tribunal documents.

His sister, Joanne Caryi, declined remark connected the insolvency proceedings present earlier the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. She is identified arsenic the executor of her brother's Canadian property successful tribunal documents.

Bids tin beryllium made for the Caryi Group's properties arsenic portion of the tribunal process. Those are being handled by the trustee Deloitte Restructuring.

It volition past instrumentality bids backmost to tribunal for approval, which could hap wrong the adjacent mates of months.

But Rankin said waiting for a merchantability and past seeing what a caller proprietor would bash are things Obladee, which employs astir 10 radical and has been operating since 2010, should not person to hold for.

He's making 1 last-ditch effort for the municipality to bash the enactment earlier June 21 to prevention this patio play amid a superior hazard of going retired of business.

"If the gathering owner, for immoderate crushed is not co-operating oregon can't co-operate, past the metropolis has to measurement successful and bash what the gathering proprietor won't," Rankin said. "I telephone it doing their job."

CBC News has asked the municipality for a effect to the concern but has not yet received one.