Halifax wine bar loses injunction motion to stop eviction from Barrington Street building

Construction scaffolding surrounds Obladee Wine Bar in Halifax on March 24, 2025. (Emma Convey/CTV Atlantic)

A Halifax wine bar has lost its injunction motion to stop a property owner from evicting them from the Barrington Street building that has been their home for more than 15 years.

Last January, Obladee, A Wine Bar (also known as Soup Pot Ideas Inc.), sought an interim injunction to stop Starfish Properties from terminating their lease or otherwise evicting them from the Tramway Building. They received a time-limited injunction in February and the matter returned to court in late April.

In a written decision, Justice Jamie S. Campbell said it would not be “equitable in this case to order an injunction,” noting the merits of the case could be determined in a trial.

“Obladee says that that (sic) if an injunction is not granted they will almost certainly be evicted on May 1, 2026, and their business will have to cease operation,” the decision reads.

According to the decision, Obladee started renting the property in 2010 and extended its lease to the end of 2026. Starfish Properties bought the building with knowledge of the lease.

From 2023 to 2025, the Halifax Regional Municipality issued orders to comply over problems with the building’s façade. One of the orders required Starfish to maintain an existing scaffolding and covered walkway on the building until work was completed.

“Starfish Properties says that in the development of those plans they found out that there were other structural problems with the building,” the decision reads. “Starfish Properties developed a plan to do all the work required to deal with the problems with the façade as well as the other issues.

“That involved both internal and external renovations that would take months to complete.”

A structural engineer found the building’s façade was in poor condition and pieces of concrete could fall and injury someone, according to the decision. Water had also entered the building and reinforcing steel had corroded.

The engineer noted repairing the building façade would involve exterior work and interior demolition.

In September 2025, Starfish gave a written notice of termination of the lease to Obladee. The wine bar denied that the company had the right to end the lease. Starfish later said it would end the lease on Jan. 31, 2026.

Starfish said the terms of the lease state if the premises are rendered untenable and cannot be repaired within 90 days, either party can elect to terminate the lease, according to the decision.

“(Obladee) acknowledge that remediations are required,” the decision reads. “But they say that it is not clear how the Order to Comply makes their space in Tramway Building untenantable. It has its own entrance and is not connected with the ventilation system for the rest of the building.

“The parties also disagree on whether it will take 90 days or more to complete the remediation of the building façade which is the subject of the Order to Comply. Obladee argues that Starfish Properties has not provided substantial support for the claim that the façade remediation alone will take more than 90 days.”

Justice Campbell said the condition of the building and its need for interior demolition and remediation would be matters for a trial.

The decision noted Obladee argued its spot in the Tramway Building is synonymous with its business and claimed it could not survive an eviction.

“Obladee argues that that they cannot just relocate,” the decision reads. “It has been ‘built, refined and improved’ over 15 years and their goodwill in (sic) inextricably linked to the premises.

“It should be noted though that Obladee occupies a rental location. It is a tenant. It could not reasonably expect to occupy the premises in the Tramway Building indefinitely. The lease expires at the end of 2026 with an option to renew for 5 years, but even if Obladee’s very existence depends on its location in that building, it has no guarantee of a permanent location.”

Justice Campbell said determining if an injunction should be granted involves assessing risk. He noted Obladee may have to cease operations if it is evicted, while Starfish could face legal consequences from the municipality if it does not resolve public safety issues with the building.

“Granting an injunction would require a principled assessment of an equitable solution in the face of uncertainty with respect to the ultimate outcome and potential consequences,” the decision reads. “Here, it would be inappropriate to make such an order when there is another option. That option is waiting until the merits have been determined after a trial and damages are assessed in the face of less uncertainty.

“Damages are not a perfect remedy. There are many things that money does not and cannot fix. But the losses that would be potentially suffered by Obladee if the business is evicted from the Tramway Building are compensable in damages because they can be calculated.”

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