Rosefinch Mercantile & Tea Room

05/30/2026

We are putting some whimsical seating areas in the backyard this summer and we need your help!

Do you have any unwanted exterior paint taking up space in your basement or garage? We'd love to trade you for the tea or coffee drink of your choice!

Just bring it in anytime and leave with a latte or a cappucino and the knowledge that you are helping us make the outside space as charming as the inside!

Thanks so much!!

05/29/2026

Help shape the future of our community!

The Region of Queens is updating its land use planning rules, and that might sound boring and intimidating until you realize how much it shapes everyday life.

These rules affect where housing can be built. Where businesses can open. How communities grow. What services people can access. What green spaces, gathering places, working waterfronts, farms, main streets, and neighbourhoods are protected as Queens changes.

And Queens is changing! More people are moving here. More development is happening. So the decisions made now will help shape what our communities look and feel like for years to come.

You do not need to be a planner, developer, policy person, or municipal government expert to take part. You just need to know your community.

You might have thoughts about where housing is needed. A road that feels unsafe. A service that is missing. A place that matters. A business district that needs support. A part of your community that should not be lost as we grow. That kind of knowledge counts for a lot.

The first round of public input has just started. To learn more, try the online activities, or find a workshop near you, visit:
https://speakupland.ca/queens-plan

This is a good moment to speak up for the Queens we love, and the Queens we want to become!

Public Engagement has begun for the Region of Queens Land Use Planning Update

On May 28, the Region of Queens launched the first round of public engagement for the Land Use Planning Update Project. This project will review the Municipality’s current Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS) and Land Use Bylaw (LUB) documents and make updates based on technical expertise and community input. Since the documents were adopted in 2022, the municipality has experienced an increase in population and development. This project is an exciting opportunity to assess what has been working well and where there is room for improvement.

The Municipality will work closely with residents, businesses, and stakeholders throughout the process to ensure that the updated planning documents reflect the needs and values of the community. Over the next seven months, there will be several opportunities to participate in the planning process and share your input, including:
● Initial Engagement Phase, launching May 28, 2026: This phase includes opportunities for community members to participate both in-person and online. Engagement activities will focus on understanding current challenges, opportunities, and aspirations for the future of the Region of Queens. The information gathered during this phase will be summarized and used to inform the development of the draft planning documents and policy directions.
● Draft Plan Engagement, Fall 2026: This will be an opportunity for community members to review the draft planning documents and provide comments on what they like, dislike, and think is missing. Feedback from this round will be integrated into the planning documents as appropriate.
Public engagement opportunities available during the first phase of the project include:
Online Engagement Activities
● An online mapping activity, as well as a “Community Questions” activity will be available starting on May 28th, and a public survey will launch on June 9th.
Online Launch Meeting
● The online project launch meeting is on Zoom on Tuesday, June 9th from 6:30 to 7:30pm. The meeting will include a short presentation about the project and planning more generally, and there will be a Q&A at the end to answer resident questions. To register, please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/BvDbyyKySrW3O5__wtI5rA

In-person Community Workshops
● The project team will be hosting a series of in-person workshops across the municipality. These workshops will include a short presentation to introduce the project and provide an introduction to planning more generally, following by topic specific discussions tailored to the unique communities. For more information about the community workshops and to find the event happening closest to you, please visit https://speakupland.ca/queens-plan.

05/28/2026

The weather is miserable, but chocolate cake always brings joy. And this one Randee made can be enjoyed by nearly anyone! It is gluten-free, egg and dairy free, and 100% delicious.

If you would like to have a meal first, we have soup and quiche and sandwiches waiting for you. And non-chocolate sweets, if that is more your jam (for real! There are also delicious thumbprint cookies with jam)!

Come see us, and discover what playlist Haritha is enjoying!

05/26/2026

Our little shop is a great place for a lunch date today! We've got a Thai chicken soup and a sweet potato curry soup, alongside a fresh stack of salami and cheese sandwiches on our new house-made focaccia, and a delicious roast mushroom tomato and red onion quiche.

There are also Randee's much-loved apple cakes, some poufy gingerbread cookies, and chocolate covered orange shortbread.

It is a beautiful day for a trip to Port Medway! And if you are lucky enough to already live here, it's a great time to stroll over for a visit. We saved you a seat. 💛❤️

05/25/2026

Rosefinch Sessions Volume 4 is coming up on Thursday, June 4, and we'd love to see you there.

Corey Isenor is coming to play songs from Tea at The Rodeo, his first new album in six years. It’s lush and melodic and full of feeling, with one side leaning into soothing folk-pop and pastoral laments, and the other getting a little bolder and more experimental.

We’ll also be joined by Andrea Cormier, whose music brings together ethereal dream pop and folk, with influences like Mazzy Star, Weyes Blood, and Beach House. She’s a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist raised along the coasts of small-town New Brunswick, now based in Halifax.

Basically, you can look forward to two beautiful, interesting, dreamy sets of music in our little café on a Thursday. The perfect way to ease into summer nights by the Medway River.

As always, the Rosefinch Sessions are by donation, all ages, and happen in our fully accessible space. Come have a tea, eat something delicious, sit close to the songs, and help us make this a really lovely event. We'll save you a seat.

Thursday, June 4
7pm to 10pm
Rosefinch Mercantile & Tea Room
1615 Port Medway Road, Port Medway

05/24/2026

Today at Rosefinch, we’re doing a sold-out day of Afternoon Teas, and somehow also have all of this on the go!

Thai chicken soup
Roast mushroom, tomato and red onion quiche
Randee’s chocolate orange shortbread, which is gluten free and vegan
Double chocolate cake
Banana cake with caramel glaze
Bacon, cheddar and scallion scones
Cardamom sticky buns
Chocolate chip cookie sandwiches with espresso chocolate ganache

A very good day for lunch, a treat, or both. We’re here until 5. Come see us in Port Medway! 💛❤️

05/23/2026

It is the two year anniversary of us finally having enough money to install the floors in this part of the café! Now the walls are a soft pink, the nook is a cozy forest green, the walls are filled with the art of local students, and the table is set for a group coming in for Afternoon Tea.

We still have so many things we are going to do with this building, it is really good for my brain to remember how the current state felt out-of-reach not that long ago. This all continues to be a dream come true.

Come see us in Port Medway and experience the vibes for yourself, for the first time or the hundredth time! We'll save you a seat. 💛❤️

05/20/2026

Want to experience a Hallmark Movie / seaside café existence without any of the responsibilities? Come stay in our 1974 Tabbert camper in historic Port Medway.

Direct booking: https://rosefinch.co/products/come-stay-at-rosefinch-mercantile

Airbnb booking: https://www.airbnb.ca/h/therosefinch

Located behind our delightful café, you'll enjoy privacy and community in whatever ratio you prefer. 90 minutes from Halifax, enjoy delightful food, fancy tea and coffee, and delicious baked goods—all while experiencing authentic maritime village life.

The trailer is default set up with one seating area and one sleeping area, but each area can be converted. So you can have two seating areas (great for working on a creative project!) or two sleeping areas. Also, please feel free to hang out in the community garden!

The camper also has a kettle, a toaster, and a minifridge, as well as a small half-bathroom with a sink and toilet.

Guests are welcome to spend time in the cafe during opening hours, from 10am to 5pm (or later, if we are having an evening event). You can sit in the sunny front window and meet the whole town, or hunker down in the little nook in the back and work on your novel.

Breakfast / lunch / dinner delivery is available for an additional fee, just let us know when you book and we'll sort it out.

Registration details
STR2627B8626

05/19/2026

Quick reminder about this thrilling event coming up this week. I hope to see a good turnout!

We are so happy to be hosting Steve Skafte for the launch of his new book, Outskirts of Ordinary, on Thursday, May 21 at 7pm.

This is a harrowing and heartfelt collection of stories about Annapolis Valley people who overcame great odds to become themselves.

There are ten stories in total. Five are drawn from Steve’s interviews with locals, including Brent Reeve, a granite carver from Berwick; Christie D’Aubin, a butcher’s daughter from Bridgetown; Denny Lunn, retired Air Force from Greenwood; James Lightle, an Afghanistan veteran from Round Hill; and Linda White Holloway, an artist from Greenwood.

The remaining five are autobiographical, moving through Steve’s childhood in a fundamentalist church, his much-loved uncle and his mental struggles, his time in Army Cadets, and his first full-time job with the cable company.

Steve describes the book as a departure from his usual work. Instead of writing about places, he is writing about people. But of course, people are how a place becomes real to us. This book is a portrait of the part of Nova Scotia where Steve has lived all his life, and it was ten years in the making.

We would love to have you join us for an evening of stories, conversation, and community.

Thursday, May 21
7:00pm
Free to attend
Books and tea and coffee and baked goods to purchase
Rosefinch Mercantile & Tea Room
1615 Port Medway Road, Port Medway