MULGRAVE — The recent closure of Mulgrave’s only Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) store has left town officials frustrated and residents inconvenienced, with no clear path forward for the now-vacant building at 419 Main St.
During the May 5 council meeting, Deputy Mayor Joanne Maas Latimer raised the issue. “I wanted that on there [the agenda] because I guess I’m flabbergasted that nobody knew about this at all,” she told council. “There was no notification to the town as far as I’m aware.”
Mayor Ron Chisholm said he received just three weeks’ informal notice of the decision.
In an email to The Journal on Tuesday (May 20), NSLC spokesperson Terah McKinnon stated that the location closed for good on April 30, 2025, adding that it had notified its staff of the decision earlier that month and informed Chisholm ahead of a public announcement.
“The decision to close a store is not made lightly,” she said, noting that the building required major repairs and that customer traffic was not high enough to justify the investment.
The closure leaves Mulgrave residents without a local liquor store outlet for the first time in decades. The closest locations are now in Auld’s Cove, Port Hawkesbury and Guysborough.
Chisholm said he, like Maas Latimer, was frustrated by the lack of communication from NSLC officials. “I wasn’t impressed that we had three weeks’ notice,” he said during the meeting. “The NSLC is now officially closed, but they wouldn’t give me any true commitments on what’s going to happen.”
In an interview with The Journal last week, Chisholm confirmed he didn’t learn of the impending closure through formal channels, but from a concerned local citizen. “I first found out when a resident came in and told me three weeks prior to the closing date,” he said.
He added that while no firm estimates have yet been given for repairing the aging property, which has been a staple in Mulgrave for decades. “We are going to wait until everything gets cleared out to see how much it will cost ... I talked to the head of the NSLC [and] they did agree to pay the taxes on it for the next two years.”
At the May 5 council meeting, Chisholm noted that provincial officials told him the price tag to bring the building up to standard would be cost-prohibitive. “When I talked to [Guysborough-Tracadie MLA] Greg Morrow about not being informed on this decision, he told me it’s going to cost an incredible amount of money to repair the building,” he said. “The number he threw at me blew my mind ... you could build two for that and it’s nowhere near reality.”
While the closure has left a gap in service for residents, there may still be local interest in repurposing the building. “There’s a gentleman in town who’s interested in opening a convenience store there,” Chisholm said.
Added Maas Latimer: “It’s a property that was built in 1965. I don’t know if they’re going to sell it, but I, myself, know of someone who’s interested if the conditions are right ... I think we need to know what’s going on with that building, whether there’s issues with the roof, or water, or anything, so we can have a good picture in order to move forward.”
While there are currently no plans to open a new location in the area, the NSLC stated that it is directing Mulgrave shoppers to nearby stores in Aulds Cove (6.7 km away) and Port Hawkesbury (16 km away), where all former Mulgrave staff continue to work. It also pointed to the Monastery Petro Can Agency store as another nearby option for local customers.
