‘I’m down substantially’: Business drying up for cafe owners on trail systems due to Nova Scotia woods ban

Dan Flinn, owner of the Bike & Bean in Upper Tantallon, poses for a photo outside his cafe and bike shop on Thursday. The province’s trail ban has stemmed the flow of customers to the Bike and Bean, which is situated along the St. Margaret’s Bay Area Rails-to-Trails. Photo by Ryan TaplinArticle contentFor cafe/specialty store owners Steve Maly and Dan Flinn, customer flow is drying up like many streams in the province after weeks of hot weather forced the closure of Nova Scotia’s trails.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentMaly, who owns the 5K Cafe and 3 Mile Outfitters, and Flinn, owner of Train Station Bike and Bean, have noticed a sharp decline in revenue since Aug. 5, when extremely dry forest conditions caused the province to enact the ban on trail travel.Article contentArticle contentArticle content“It’s totally affecting my business,” said Flinn, whose Bike and Bean is situated along the St. Margarets Bay Area Rails-to-Trails, a multi-use pathway that runs between Hubley and Hubbards. The store also sells biking gear and offers bike rentals.Article content“I don’t have anybody coming out here on a bike; I have a few people coming from the road. I have closed down the bike shop for a couple of days this week because it wasn’t necessary to have somebody here because there is nobody who would come in biking to buy anything.”Article contentFlinn doesn’t track the number of customers who come to the Bike and Bean but said traffic is significantly down, which has led to much lower than anticipated summer revenue.Article content“Customer-wise and revenue-wise are different things,” said Flinn. “You get everybody coming off the bikes, and revenue-wise you have people that are driving who will stop over. But you don’t get the same amount. My revenue out of the bike shop has gone totally down. I’m about 15 to 25 per cent of what I was, and I don’t have any rental revenue.Article contentArticle content“I’m down substantially, that’s all I can tell you.”Article content Ashley Sullivan works the counter at the 5K Cafe on Chain Lake Drive on Friday. Photo by George MyrerArticle contentArticle contentMaly’s story is much the same. His cafe, which includes 3 Mile Outfitters, is situated along the Chain of Lakes Trail on Chain Lake Drive. The popular trail starts on Joseph Howe Drive and continues through Bayers Lake Business Park and beyond.Article content“It has definitely closed down business quite a bit, particularly the weekends, more so than the weekdays,” said Maly, who operates the business with partner Danny Hewitt. “We still get the people who work out here, although with the (Susies Lake) fires the last two days, that was a whole other level.Article content“Overall, it’s been a marked downturn the last two weeks in both sides of our business because we have the outfitter store as well, so without people going hiking and camping, it’s really hard to sell hiking shoes and camping gear.Article content“The outfitter part with the shoes and the outdoor gear, we’re not at 100 per cent down but pretty close enough. There is just no appeal for it right now.”