Queer-owned firms in N.S. combat barriers to business

The owner of Halifax’s most prominent gay bar is unimpressed by the province’s new action plan for the queer community.

Gerald McCowan, the owner of Halifax gay bar Rumours Lounge & Cabaret, said the province is talking to the wrong people.

McCowan was referring to Nova Scotia’s 2SLGBTQIA+ Action Plan, which was released on Jan. 8. The report is a “dedicated approach to address the specific challenges faced by the 2SLGBTQ+ community.”

The information was gathered from a public survey of 448 respondents, of which 54 per cent live in HRM. 

“You’re asking people in the community? Well, you’re asking the wrong people,” McCowan says. “You’re not asking the people that actually get down in the trenches and see everybody … the people that own our gay businesses might have ideas.”

“Has the government ever come in here and talked to us? No, not once,” McCowan says. “The Conservative government, I don’t think, cares. They just put out what they thought people wanted to hear.” 

The province said that through their survey, they heard “2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs can face barriers to financing and growth.” Its solution is to “create a supportive ecosystem where 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs can access resources, programs and services to start and expand their businesses.”

The Halifax Distilling Company is owned by Julie Shore and Arla Johnson.

Mostly, the women say they don’t face barriers with their business due to their sexuality. But say they were once told by a business person that in order to have their brand expand across Canada they need to “tone the queerness down.”

But, Johnson says, “customer wise we’ve never experienced that, we’ve only experienced love.”

Wanda White, owner of The Teapothecary, a tea shop and art gallery, says she has been facing barriers.

“Getting financing has been next to impossible,” White says.

“I do make it very clear in my business plans … what my business represents and who I am. I often feel that I’m not taken very seriously.” 

White is queer, feminine representing and has a few disabilities like neurodivergence. The Teapothecary carries products from underrepresented communities such as other queer people, people living with disabilities, women in business, BIPOC, and immigrants.

“It needs to be easier,” White says. “Traditional bank style loans are just not possible for a lot of people that face barriers … everything goes well until you have that meeting, and if you’re a little quirky looking or like me…eloquently delivering a speech on my numbers is very hard.” 

Support from the community

McCowan says Rumours needs more financial support from the community to sustain the business.

Blake Smith, who owns balloon supply store Balloon Boyz in Dartmouth with his husband, agrees.

“I think the gay community needs to really look at supporting their own … before going to the big box stores.”

He wants a directory of local queer businesses in the area. 

“I don’t think a lot of businesses necessarily promote that they’re queer owned and operated. I don’t broadcast it on my Facebook or my website … maybe we all just need to be more transparent.” 

As a gay woman, Elise Booth, 22, prefers queer businesses but it’s not a necessity.

“I don’t think it (my sexuality) defines me as a person … But I definitely think it’s a large part of me and like how I move through the world.”

Booth has been to both gay bars in Halifax several times but doesn’t go regularly. 

“I feel like I wouldn’t go specifically because they’re gay bars because I genuinely find that Halifax is such a queer place in general, that most bars tend to be fairly queer friendly and populated by queer people.”

Pride in Queer business

For Jay Aaron Roy, owner of Cape and Cowl Comics and Collectibles in Lower Sackville, seeing a sign that a business is queer friendly “means the whole world.”

“It means that I can sigh relief … I can enjoy, I can browse, I can feel safe. I’m with my community.”

When Cape and Cowl opened in 2014, Roy painted the front window with a trans flag that said: trans-owned representation matters. He wanted to create a safe space for himself and, by extension, a safe space for the trans community.

“Cape and Cowl was never supposed to be just a comic book store. A lot of the people who know me personally know Cape and Cowl, the youth drop-in centre disguised as a comic book store.” 

Roy wants more businesses to have a queer brand identity, but finds it harder to talk about now than in 2014. 

“It feels like there’s been some backwards sliding in society,” he says.

In 2022, Carla Nickerson went around her South Shore community of Barrington, asking retailers to put rainbow stickers on their front doors to signify that her gay son would be safe in that business.

She says most declined, saying they were afraid they’d lose money.

The rural municipality of Shelburne County has a history of being anti-LGBTQ+. Nickerson wanted to change that.

“I decided that I was going to start spreading the rainbow,” she says.

Nickerson’s porch-run store, Always Crafts and Gifts, has pride-related items for sale all year round. “I thought he needs to know that we’re always proud.” 

In time, people became extremely supportive.

“It’s been so good to see,” Nickerson says, “and our son felt safe enough to come home from Halifax and be a nurse for this community.”