HALIFAX, N.S. —

Quinpool Road is soon going to have the Cheeky Neighbour.

Drew Voegeli operated Relish Gourmet Burgers in the same Halifax spot but it was time for a change. 

“I did seven years and it was a really great seven years,” Voegeli said.

“I came into the restaurant business, completely honestly, so naïve. I had never even worked in a restaurant before but took this leap of faith and it was great,” he said.

“That was kind of the training wheels for me, and I wanted to do something different and take the next step into a full-service model.”

They will be “playing with classics.” The Cheeky Neighbour will have daytime brunch until 3 with your usual and some creative brunch dishes, and the regular menu will run from 11 until close with what you would expect from a diner.

 “If you want simple good food, that’s what we are aiming for,” said Voegeli.

There will also be a few Halifax-based craft beers on tap. 

Voegeli is passionate that it be a neighbourhood place, where you can come in and know you are around people that live there. He is also buoyed about all the changes coming to the Quinpool-Robie corridor and the residents who will be arriving over the next five years, with several construction projects in progress or scheduled.

He said he used the word neighbour in the branding of the restaurant to show he is part of the community, and he does live nearby. The N in the logo has a cat tail and the restaurant has a sophisticated feline as part of its branding as an homage to all the cats that wander that area.

The decor is inviting, with touches of mid-century design combined with modern. There are two tables in the back that are inside what look like neighbouring houses. A few more fun touches will appeal to the ubiquitous selfie-taker.

The Cheeky Neighbour will open this week only to participate in Taco Week with its Doritos Yolo Taco, essentially a taco salad in a bag of corn chips, then will close for a few days for full staff training, reopening with the full menu at the end of the month.

Here are some more retail highlights and happenings:

A longtime staple of East Hants has wrapped up after 35 years. Curly Portable’s pub has closed in Enfield.

It’s seasonal shop time. My Home Mercantile, Home Comforts and Hickory Farms have all set up in Dartmouth’s Mic Mac Mall, with New Scotland Clothing open this week. Just Cozy has set up shops in Scotia Square and Halifax Shopping Centre, while Pumpkin Village is open in the Village Shops area of Dartmouth Crossing.

The end unit beside McDonald’s in the Woodside neighbourhood of Dartmouth will soon be home to a location of the Snappy Tomato pizza shop.

Neon Nights, a new spot offering drinks, “amazing food” and an arcade, will be opening in “downtown Halifax” next year. In the meantime, you can get a food sneak peek as they will be slinging tacos starting Thursday at Halifax Distilling Company on Lower Water Street as part of Taco Week.

The Under Armour Factory House is open in the Village Shops.

Sugar Fix on Spring Garden Road has transitioned into Daily Grind Express with more food and beverage options.

The Futon Store, a longtime staple of north-end Halifax, has folded. It closed in mid-October after selling the Young Street building. I hear the owners have happily retired.

Red Chillies (Indian) is open in the strip mall on the Bedford Highway at Hammonds Plains Road. 

Mexi’s (Mexicali Rosa’s) has completed a move and is open in its new Bayers Lake home.