It’s been about 10 years since Malcolm Fisher and his partner Debbie took over Cranewood, the 187-year-old Georgian style house on Main Street in Sackville, which for decades served as the official residence for the president of Mount Allison University. These days, the heritage building is home to Cranewood on Main, a popular cafe, bakery, and sometimes fine dining spot.
“It’s been interesting because the direction has changed over those years,” says Fisher. “But I believe we found our true place in the community, and this is what we’re building on from here on.”
Over the past year, the building has seen some significant renovation, including replaced doors and windows, and major changes in the kitchen. There’s a new, efficient walk-in fridge and walk-in freezer, and a large ventilation hood system that will allow for use of gas ranges. The floor has also been levelled out to make for a more streamlined workspace and accommodate new equipment. Plans also include an expansion of the seating area on the upper floor, where Bee Boutique was formerly located. It’s all working towards “more Cranewood” as manager Malcolm Campbell describes it.
That means additional seating, and also possibly expanded service. In 2021, Chef Kim Martin partnered with Cranewood to offer fine dining pop-ups in the cafe, after it closed for regular operations at 4pm. Those dinner nights continue to happen, but Martin’s role has expanded. “She’s a very important part of Cranewood now,” says Campbell. “And she is here every day working with Cranewood on the lunch menus, and our evening stuff as well.”
Fisher says now that the business has “found its stride”, the investment in the building was a natural next step for he and his partner, despite the challenges and costs that go along with a heritage building.
“We’re local. We have a passion. We live on property presently that’s pretty historical, which we take a lot of pride in,” says Fisher. Cranewood has been “a mystery to the community and to the locals for many, many years. We’ve now made it more into a public building that people can come in and enjoy. What else could we do?”
Fisher says the renovations have focussed on making the building sustainable in the long run. “What we’ve done is made it into an efficient building that was built in 1836,” he says. One of the first things he did was replace the natural gas furnace with a high efficiency wood pellet boiler, which he says has “paid for itself many times over.”
He’s also a fan of keeping things local. The wooden windows and doors come for a Scoudouc company, and the wood pellets are also produced in province. “I believe we keep as much in our local economy as we can,” says Fisher, “and our economy will grow and thrive.”
Manager Campbell acknowledges the challenges of working through the various renovations, especially for staff, but they are also visibly excited about the extra capacity that the improvements bring.
“There’s going to be lots more happening at Cranewood,” says Campbell, “lots of exciting things, so stay tuned.“
Hear this story as reported on CHMA’s Tantramar Report:
