Come From Away-A New Café!

There is a new business opening in Grand Etang, Café Les Suêtes, by come from aways.

Adonia O’Hara grew up in Rhode Island, but she was born in Sydney NS, while her American parents were visiting relatives. Chris O’Hara was born and raised in Ontario.

Adonia visited Cape Breton several times as a child. When she was 16, she moved to Bay St Lawrence with her aunt and uncle, and finished high school at Cabot High. She graduated in 2000, and moved to Toronto. “I had never been to Toronto and it was wild and beautiful- full of culture and opportunity,” she said. “Collectively, I spent about 15 years in Toronto, found a group of friends, a couple of great apartments I could afford on my own, and worked in every occupation you could think of!”

She started with telemarketing, she was a Merry Maid, she sold spa packages door to door, she worked at a fabric store and finally settled into an upscale women’s shoe store where she was employed for years. She came back to Nova Scotia, and did two years at Mount St Vincent University. “I ended up leaving MSVU and heading back to Cape Breton where I worked as the Wedding & Events Coordinator at Keltic Lodge Resort & Spa for 3 years.I flourished there, and enjoyed every minute of it. For personal reasons, I left there and went back to Toronto, and got into administrative work in real estate. I went on to work in retail sales while I got my realtor’s license,” she said.

“Chris and I met 10 years ago online in Toronto. He had always wanted to eventually move to the country and open some sort of eatery, as cooking was his passion,” Adonia explained.  A few years into their relationship, Adonia took Chris to Cape Breton. He fell in love.  “The boats, and seafood, the Highlands, the hiking, the ocean, the wild berries and foraging, small town vibes, no traffic, fresh air!” she said. After this trip, they started talking about moving to Cape Breton permanently.

Chris O’Hara spent 21 years in Toronto. He worked in the advertising industry in Media Planning. Chris explained, “Simply put, my job was to ensure our clients ads were seen by their target audience. Our recommendations known as Media Plans could include a variety of media types: TV, radio, magazine, newspaper, outdoor, online, depending on which mediums were most used by the relevant consumer. Advertising was a fun and engaging career that offered many opportunities I would have not been able to experience had I worked in another career. For example, I would think it may be hard to find an accounting firm that lets all the employees leave the office on a Wednesday afternoon to cheer on the Blue Jays at Rogers Stadium while drinking $10 complimentary beers.”

Over the years he was able to move into more senior roles, with his last position being Vice President, Paid Media at a company by the name of Edelman Worldwide. “With these more senior roles came a heavy level of stress, which ultimately just burned me out and I wanted a change. I was so lucky to have a spouse that was okay with me walking away from my career,” he said.

Chris has worked a number of different jobs since they moved to Cape Breton, but the ultimate goal was always to open a food establishment. Cooking has always been an interest for Chris. He worked in some restaurants during high school and college, binge-watched the Food Network and he even enrolled in some culinary courses at George Brown College in Toronto, just for fun!

They bought a house in Grand Etang and have settled into the community. Chris joined the Lemoine Volunteer Fire Department 3 years ago and is now Vice President and also takes care of their social media accounts.

When Chris was asked how he felt about living on Cape Breton Island, he said, “I heard a quote once and I believe it rings true: Live in a place where other people want to visit on vacation.”

They had never heard about the big south east winds common to the area. The strongest winds regularly reach hurricane force, from 100-240 kilometres an hour. It only affects a 30-kilometre stretch of land. Their house is in the centre of it. The Acadian locals call these winds, suêtes.

“We bought a large, 2-story house, with 130 years behind it,” Adonia said. “The entire house shakes, rattles, and rolls when a suête comes along! Several times now, I thought the roof was going to fly off but, we’ve only had our power stack come down once! Our picnic table blew from the back yard to our neighbour’s front yard one time. We didn’t even realize it until the next morning. Truth be told, I have always loved the wind! Sounds corny but, I feel like it was fate that we moved here. And obviously, we thought it fitting that the cafe be called Café Les Suêtes!”

The locals are excited about it!

Christina Murphy, who lives down the road, cannot wait for a café so open so close to home. “I often think of how much potential there is between the villages of St Joseph Du Moine, Grand Etang and further towards Terre Noire to the Belle Cote area. There is no reason to NOT have a cafe in the area. The population continues to grow with people from everywhere, and many, I am sure would love to have a place to go to relax without having to drive to Cheticamp or NE Margaree, I wish them the greatest success,” she said.

A resident of Grand Etang, Leandre LeBlanc said, “I think it’s a great idea; I am anxious to go for a walk and a coffee.”

Local business owners support the new establishment. Geoff Gillstrom, who owns the Cedar Peak Airbnb in Grand Etang said,” It’s exciting to see people trying new things and servicing our small community with fresh ideas. I’m most elated knowing that I can now grab a quick bite on my daily walk instead of having to drive to Cheticamp. I really hope they succeed!”

 Waves End RV Campground is pleased that more businesses are opening in the area. “This is a sign that the local tourism ecosystem is recovering and thriving,” said owner Scott MacPherson.

Café Les Suêtes will be opening soon with a rotating menu including sandwiches, salads, soups, baked treats and espresso drinks.

Best of luck to these come from aways and their new café!

Published in The Inverness Oran, June 21,2023