Photo essay
Weekdays at the office, weekends in the market stalls
How immigrants build a second income at Halifax’s Seaport Market
caption
Hossam Daghesh laughs with customers at Choco Lava, his luxury Belgian chocolate stall. Originally from Syria and raised in Kuwait, he spent about 20 years as a human resources manager before moving to Canada with his family two years ago. He now works full-time as an on-site manager during the week and makes chocolate on weekends, with plans to one day open a cafe that pairs his chocolate-making passion with coffee.In August 2025, five per cent of Canadian workers held more than one job, according to Statistics Canada. That number inches up to seven per cent for immigrants.
At the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market, that immigration trend has a face and a menu.
On Nov. 8, at least 15 of roughly 40 vendors at the market were immigrants. Many brought careers with them to Halifax: in IT, teaching, human resources, and account executive roles.
Some run their stalls while working full-time jobs. For others, the stall is their main source of income while they build toward what comes next.
For all of them, the market is a place to test ideas, win loyal customers, and build something of their own.
caption
Kenji Sawada shapes an onigiri of rice and salmon wrapped in seaweed at his stall Riceful. Sawada, who is from Tokyo, says the stall is a full-time job: two market days a week, plus three days of preparation. He has added spicier fillings to suit Halifax tastes.
caption
Hossam Daghesh laughs with customers at Choco Lava, his luxury Belgian chocolate stall. Originally from Syria and raised in Kuwait, he spent about 20 years as a human resources manager before moving to Canada with his family two years ago. He now works full-time as an on-site manager during the week and makes chocolate on weekends, with plans to one day open a cafe that pairs his chocolate-making passion with coffee.
caption
Celia Deer, a Jamaica-born account executive, pours sorrel, a hibiscus drink, at her weekend stall. When she noticed shoppers wanted food they could eat while walking, she dropped larger hot meals to focus on patties, and she says regulars now return every week for them.
caption
Balancing full-time weekday jobs, Ivy and Ryan Declaro run Aiveery Homeline Shoppe on weekends to create a second income for their family. After listing their costs, from rent of about $2,400 a month to utilities, groceries, and the needs of their two children in school, Ryan said: ‘That’s why we need to make something like this.’ Ivy hand-makes a dozen Filipino menu items from scratch, including steaming siomai, fluffy siopao and traditional cookies, exactly the way they are made back home.
caption
A customer pays at The Macaron Basket, where Aswati Kannan sells macarons in five flavours: blueberry, pistachio, strawberry, lemon and a new flavour each time. An IT professional who moved to Halifax four-and-a-half years ago, she perfected her recipe over more than 50 test batches and now runs the business full-time while she searches for a new IT job.
caption
Aswati holds up a macaron as her son looks on. While she looks for her next IT role, Aswati sees the stall as “just the beginning,” with plans for custom orders for celebrations.About the author
Faisal Karim
Faisal is a journalist from Bangladesh and a master of journalism student at the University of King's College.
Leave a Reply