Despite its bright yellow exterior, Labour Day Picnic is easy for tourists to miss on the long, frequently foggy, road to Peggy’s Cove. For locals, though, the former church and community hall is a true year-round gathering place.

When I arrived at Labour Day Picnic Café to interview co-owners Kate Melvin and Gabe Beale, the couple had just spent two hours hauling a refrigerator up the narrow wooden stairs to the second floor. Despite their exhaustion, they were laughing as we settled in at a long rustic table. Over the next hour or so, they told me what it’s like running a year-round café in a community where many businesses close following the last tour bus of the season.

For Melvin, it began with a pastry school competition. “It was cool… but pretty much the most stressful thing in the entire world,” she said. “I needed to do a molded chocolate and a dip chocolate, so then I… developed this caramel recipe.”

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