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The first event took place in early July for Scaife’s birthday. And the neighbourhood I’ve always talked to as I’m doing it, they’ve been supportive and a lot of them have come here.” “There’s a little bit of worry, but I’ve lived here a long time. “We’re completely underground, we’re a speakeasy,” says Scaife. “Because I don’t feel the same way, and that’s really what we want to create here.”īut because the Queer Garden wasn’t a licensed bar (and still isn’t, which is why The Coast is keeping the exact location a mystery), the events themselves had to be kept secret. “I’m hesitant to say the word queer community here,” says Chevrette, who recently moved back to Halifax from Berlin. “And people that moved here, especially the queer community, didn’t have the support structure to rely on and no means of creating that or connecting with the community.” “It was kind of a time where the pandemic, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel,” says Scaife. But it may not have happened without COVID-19. “From that night, it was three to four weeks, we had quit our jobs and opened,” Scaife says.Ī post shared by Queer Garden Halifax started out as a space for a bunch of queer-identifying friends to gather was now a business, ready to serve rainbow cocktails, chips with queso dip and BBQ skewers. All three have experience in the service industry: Scaife was managing Upstreet BBQ Brewhouse, Delorey was general manager at Barrington Steakhouse, and Chevrette worked as a flight attendant. Justin Chevrette and Erin Delorey are co-operators of the Garden alongside Scaife. “And it was just a passion project from there on.” “A couple weeks later, after a rough night working in food and beverage, I came home and thought about the name again,” Scaife says. “At that point, it was just funny, let’s get a sign and call it the Queer Garden.”īut soon, Scaife and friends realized there was a true need for a place that 2SLGBTQ+ people could gather. He’s sitting on a sofa made of wooden palettes next to his terrier, Hank. “Back in June, a friend actually came up with the name for the backyard ‘cause we always all hang out back here,” says Scaife, speaking with The Coast on a recent sunny afternoon.
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The only indication that Halifax’s most-hyped underground queer bar is in Scaife’s backyard are the colours of the inclusive Pride flag (rainbow, plus the trans flag’s blue and pink pastel hues) painted on the wooden fence door, a porta-potty hidden behind a bush out front, and the occasional party-goer looking for directions on their phone as they strut down the sidewalk in sky-high heels, a new wig and a fit ready to drop jaws. His house is a pale colour, blending in with the neighbours’ two-storey homes, their yards scattered with children’s toys and fall-themed decorations. Mike Scaife has lived in Halifax’s north end for nine years, on a quiet, dead-end residential street with limited parking and lined with trees that give way to the mid-afternoon sun.