Star Donovan, manager of special events for Mersey Seafoods, stands in front of the company’s Scallop Shack, which opened Monday at their location on Bristol Avenue. (Rick Conrad)

Residents and visitors to Liverpool can now buy Mersey Seafoods’ world-famous scallops right from the factory on Bristol Avenue.

The company opened the Scallop Shack in a tiny guardhouse in its parking lot on Monday morning. 

Star Donovan is Mersey Seafoods’ manager of special events. She said Monday that response so far is good.

“It’s been busy since we put the sign out considering no one even knew we were going to do this. We just put the sign out by the road this morning, and it’s been flat out busy.”

Since the company opened its new building in 2019, many residents were hoping they would also open a retail facility.

Donovan said that until now, they couldn’t do that.

“Since Covid, we have had our doors locked. Prior to that, we used to sell five pounds of scallops to the community when they wanted them. The president of our company has chatted about being able to offer scallops again to the community so we decided we’d go with the Scallop Shack.”

The Scallop Shack will be open year-round, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be selling two different sizes of scallops – 10 to 20 scallops per pound or 20 to 30 scallops per pound.

You can buy them in a one-kilogram or a five-pound bag. Prices range from $37.40 for a kilogram of smaller scallops to $90 for five pounds of larger scallops.

Donovan said that with tourist season underway, it’s a good time for the new venture, especially since it’s difficult to find local seafood in Liverpool.

“I think it’s great, but I kind of figured it would be. We have calls every week from people, ‘Can we buy them, can we buy them?’ I know the community are happy about this and excited, and so am I.”

Mersey Seafoods is also celebrating its 60th year in business this year. And to help celebrate, the company will be putting a float in the Privateer Days parade for the first time, Donovan said.

“The girls in production decided they were going to put a float in the parade this year and so we’re all excited about that, having the Scallop Shack open. You never know what’s to come. We’ll see.”

Scallops sold by Mersey Seafoods are sustainably harvested from the Atlantic Ocean and freshly frozen at sea. 

The company also sells coldwater shrimp and redfish or ocean perch. But Donovan says they will be selling only scallops at the Scallop Shack.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Mike Murphy of Mersey Seafoods announces the company’s sponsorship of the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials, beginning Dec. 30 at Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

As one of the people bringing the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials to Liverpool in December, you’d expect Greg Thorbourne to love the sport.

“I used to hate mixed doubles,” he told a crowd on Monday at the Liverpool Curling Club.

“I thought, ‘Who the hell would ever play that game?’”

But after working at the last two national mixed doubles curling events, the longtime booster of curling in Queens County was quickly converted.

“Watching the calibre of curling, the shots made, the number of rocks in play, I don’t think there’s a better game in this world than mixed doubles.”

Thorbourne, chairman of the Liverpool Championship Host Society, was speaking at an event at the curling club Monday to kick off the volunteer recruitment effort for the mixed doubles curling trials planned for Dec. 30 to Jan. 4 at Queens Place Emera Centre.

The host society has been working on securing the trials since last June.

It’s the first of three major qualifying events in Nova Scotia for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Wolfville is hosting the full-team Canadian pre-trials in October 2025, and Halifax will host the Canadian curling trials in November 2025.

Sixteen teams will compete in Liverpool for the chance to represent Canada in mixed doubles curling in Italy.

Queens MLA Kim Masland speaks at an event at the Liverpool Curling Club on Monday to kick off volunteer recruitment for the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials in December in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

About 50 people turned out for the event in Liverpool on Monday, including Queens MLA and Public Works Minister Kim Masland, Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman and Liverpool native Jill Brothers, who skipped Canada to a silver medal at the 2004 world junior championships.

Thorbourne said he’d like to have about 150 volunteers for the event. Liverpool hosted the 2021 pre-trial curling trials, where the volunteer numbers were lower because of Covid.

“Normally, we have between 135 and 150. With Covid the last time, we were down around 85 so this time we’re looking at getting back up so that people don’t have to spend as many hours on site as they did the last time.”

He said they’re already getting calls from across Canada from people who want to volunteer.

“Last week, I got two calls from B.C., three from Ontario, a couple from up North, a few from Alberta, the Prairies. This is the first of three Olympic trial events in Nova Scotia. So a lot of these people will come here and get trained, work here and move forward.”

Mike Murphy, chief financial and chief operating officer of Mersey Seafoods, also announced the Liverpool company’s sponsorship of the $255,000 event.

“We want to be part of the community and we want to give back to the community when we can,” he said in an interview. “And we think events like this are really good to showcase Liverpool, the South Shore, Queens County. It puts us on the world stage. People show up from all over Nova Scotia, Canada, all over the world and we think it’s great to showcase our community.”

The value of the sponsorship was not disclosed, but Thorbourne said later that it is “substantial”. The Region of Queens has also committed $19,140 to the event. Thorbourne said they are working on other sponsorships too.

Many people at Monday’s kickoff were signing up to volunteer. Valerie Lantz of Liverpool was one of them.

This will be her third curling event in Liverpool. She volunteered at the 2021 pre-trials and the 2019 World Junior Curling Championships.

“I was a curler, … so that’s what brings me to this. Now that I’m retired i can spend the time doing this sort of thing and i thoroughly enjoy it.”

She said the event will bring much-needed business to the community at a slow time of year.

“This will put people in rooms in hotels and in restaurants. And mixed curling, it’s such a high-energy fast sport, I think it will create new patrons to the event.”

Lantz said that volunteering at the curling trials in December will be worth your time.

“You’ll meet people not only from Liverpool volunteering but people from probably around the province. It’s just so much fun. And you get to see some great curling.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

LFD new ladder truck beside their rescue boat. Photo John Long

The Liverpool fire department now owns their ladder truck free and clear thanks to a donation by Mersey Seafoods and the J and W Murphy Foundation.

Volunteers at the station were surprised when opening mail this week to discover a cheque for $50,000 to go towards the purchase of another truck.

The department determined before Christmas they would need to replace their ladder truck.

Hydraulics that lift the ladder had failed and the department learned repairing the equipment was not only costly but there was no guarantee the repair would pass an inspection to return the engine to service.

Liverpool fire department approached the Region of Queens for help to buy a replacement. The municipality stepped up with a $46,000 interest-free loan.

Members located a ladder truck for sale in New Brunswick and took ownership it earlier this week.

Captain John Long says the department had been exploring several options to raise the money needed to buy the ladder truck.

“We had sent out some letters requesting some help,” said Long. “This came through and it’s huge. Not just the number but the impact it has on us is huge. And we can work towards replacing our boat.”

Replacing their 1994 rescue boat had been the fire department’s focus before the issues arose with the ladder truck.

Long says the boat is showing its age.

“The ring is not holding air. We can use it in an emergency but we can’t really do any training with it,” said Long.

The new boat will need to be outfitted for rescue operations. A T-top, rear bench, console, steering wheel and search lights will need to be fitted to the boat. A new modern, sonar system will be installed and other safety equipment will be updated as well.

All told, Long says they need to raise $56,000 to turn out the new boat.

He says any money donated by individuals and businesses in the community towards replacing the ladder truck will be applied to the purchase of the boat.

Longs says thanks to the generous donation from Mersey Seafoods and the J and W Murphy Foundation the loan to the municipality has been repaid in full and the rest will go into the boat fund.

Information on how to donate to the Liverpool Fire Department is on their website: Liverpoolfirefighters.com.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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