Nova ScotiaA pair of businesses near the St. Margaret’s Bay trail say they are struggling to draw in customers and make ends meet.Bike and Bean café, Cavicchi’s Meats say they’ve been losing money since the ban went into effect on Aug. 5Karsten Greene · CBC News · Posted: Aug 28, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoN.S. businesses that rely on traffic from trails strugglingA café said its revenue has been reduced by 50 per cent as a result of Nova Scotia’s woods ban. Karsten Greene has the story.On any other summer day, the gravel parking lot of the Train Station Bike and Bean could expect to see cars coming and going, hikers refuelling inside with a sandwich, and cyclists fresh off the multi-use trail that runs behind the café and bike shop in Upper Tantallon, N.S.Usually a hub for outdoor enthusiasts on the St. Margaret’s Bay trail, the business is now struggling to draw in customers and make ends meet — a result of Nova Scotia’s ban on entering the woods during perilously dry conditions.”There’s not many people parking right now,” Dan Flinn, the Bike and Bean’s owner, said Monday in an interview outside the café, which is housed inside a historic train station. “Go around the back where everybody would be biking and parking as well, and there’s nothing there either.”The ban on camping, hiking, fishing and using vehicles in the woods went into effect on Aug. 5 due to an elevated wildfire risk, and is expected to stay in place until mid-October unless drought conditions improve. The fine for breaking the ban is $25,000. Open fires are also banned.Flinn said since the ban went into effect, Bike and Bean’s revenue has dropped by around 50 per cent. He attributes the loss primarily to fewer sales at the bike shop; with no one on the trail, there’s no demand for bike rentals or repairs.Grant Cavicchi, owner of Cavicchi’s Meats, is understanding of the ban on entering the woods, but he worries he’ll have to cut employees’ hours. (Paul Poirier/CBC)A short distance away, Cavicchi’s Meats said the ban has also hit them hard. Owner Grant Cavicchi said the summer months, when people are most active on the trail, are typically when the grocery and eatery make the most money. That money helps sustain the business throughout the slower fall and winter seasons.With fewer people coming in this year, Cavicchi now worries about how they will survive in the coming months. He said he’s especially concerned about his employees, many of whom rely on the income from the shop and whose hours Cavicchi fears he might have to cut.”At the end of the day, we would like to protect our people,” he said. “We’re got great people. And so, you know, to cut their hours back is hard for me. I don’t like to do that.”In 2023, after wildfires tore through the Tantallon area and parts of Shelburne County, the provincial government announced one-time $2,500 grants to small businesses impacted by the evacuation orders or closed for at least five days because of the fires.’We need to be thankful here’No relief has been announced for businesses negatively affected by the woods ban.”At this time, our focus is on protecting the safety of people, properties, and homes at risk of being lost,” the Department of Labour said in an email.Cavicchi said he understands the necessity of the woods ban due to wildfires.On Wednesday, an out-of-control wildfire was burning more than 200 kilometres away near Long Lake in the Annapolis Valley. The fire, which has doubled in size over the past several days to 8,278 hectares, has destroyed homes and forced more than 1,000 residents from the area.”All we have to do is read the news and we need to be thankful here,” said Cavicchi.”We’ll weather through. We’ll navigate our way by and … come out the other side. And hopefully this will all change very soon.”ABOUT THE AUTHORKarsten Greene is a reporter for CBC Nova Scotia.
Businesses that rely on hikers, cyclists take a hit due to N.S. trail closures
