NOW LUNENBURG COUNTY_MAGAZINE_56PGS_JUNE2018

MIKE and AMELIA BISHOP
nova scotia
MAHONE BAY, LUNENBURG COUNTY
rediscovering paradise BY
TINA HENNIGAR
Submitted photo
MAHONE BAY COUPLE
SERVE UP MORE THAN
JUST COFFEE
It’s 6 pm and I’m setting up to interview Mike and Amelia
Bishop, the owners of The Barn Coffee and Social House in
Mahone Bay. They’d already put in a full day, and were balancing
their cash, when a lady poked her head in through the door that
was not yet locked.
“Oh, are you closing?” she asked in disappointment, anticipating
their answer.
“Yes, sorry,” Amelia apologized. “We close at 5,”
“Wait,” Mike stopped her before she left. “You want a coffee?”
He asked, holding up the pot. “It’s just going to get thrown out
anyway.
The lady and her friend gratefully added their fixings to their
coffees and left happy.
I sat back on the oversized, brown leather sofa in what feels
more like a cabin than a coffee shop, and watched the couple
continue to work in unison as we listened to The Illuminators
over their speaker. They’re a team, Mike and Amelia, and what
they have built together is very special. Over the next hour
“THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A BUSINESS TO
US, AND WE WANT TO DO MORE THAN
JUST MAKE MONEY.”
Ameila Bishop
32 NOWLUNENBURGCOUNTY.COM
I would grow to love them, and this place even more than I
already loved their coffee.
“This is more than just a business to us, and we want to do
more than just make money.” Amelia said of The Barn and what
they’ve managed to do here. “We want to give everyone an
experience and make everyone feel like family.”
It seems to have worked. Every day since opening has been busy.
Mike and Amelia could feel the support from the community
almost immediately, through the lineups in those early days.
They keep anticipating a slow down, but aside from a few major
snow storms, it hasn’t yet. The duo credits the social media
savvy of their team who work at The Barn. But that alone will not
create a successful business, they caution. “You can’t just have
the sizzle. You need to have something they want,” Mike insists.
“We try very hard to make people feel welcome; like they’re in
our home.”
Mike spent his childhood in Truro and later moved to Boston. He
was visiting his sister in Kentville when he met Amelia. With a
background in education and an entrepreneur at heart, he found
similar qualities in Amelia who worked in the non-profit sector,
assisting other entrepreneurs.
‘You’re opening another coffee shop? You’re not going to make
it, especially in February,’ was the advice they were given when
they announced their plan to create a coffee shop in the old barn
housed on the property beside the iconic Suttles and Seawinds
retail shop in Mahone Bay.
“We knew what we were doing was going to be special. We’re
thankful for every single person who comes through the door. As
confident as we were, it’s still surprising.” Mike said of the buzz
of The Barn.