Last Updated on Wednesday, 06 February 2013 21:55 Written by Administrator Monday, 29 November 2010 05:32

Life was good for Lisa growing up in the Annapolis Valley, NS, along the shoreline of the Bay of Fundy, surrounded by the bounties of the Atlantic Ocean. Until… she met a charming French Canadian Airman and shortly thereafter found herself displaced to a military base in Eastern Ontario. Once there, she quickly mastered the procedures necessary to board a military aircraft heading Eastbound at every opportunity that arose. Quick trips home just long enough to attend a party or three and pick up a stash that included Fresh Lobster, Keith’s beer (not available in ON at that time), Chris Brother’s Pepperoni, and Donairs. Those were the days…

Eventually those flights diminished as a result of more important world events taking place overseas. True to her entrepreneurial spirit, Lisa pulled together all of her East Coast resources and created innovative means to continue receiving her seafood and favorite products from home.

In an effort to support her seafood addiction, Lisa formed a network of suppliers in Nova Scotia and launched a website offering to provide fresh seafood and favorite Maritime products to displaced Maritimers everywhere. Shortly thereafter, she left her accounting career behind to focus her full attention on her new e-commerce business, Maritime Lobster Express.

In 2007, Lisa opened a retail location in Belleville, ON providing the local area with fresh seafood flown in daily direct from Nova Scotia.

Once the retail location was operating smoothly, Lisa was on to the next project that included a Seafood Restaurant featuring Authentic East Coast Food and Hospitality; Kalays was opened in 2009. The name “Kalays” was inspired by the Gaelic word “Ceilidh”, pronounced “kay-lay” meaning simply an East Coast Kitchen party where friends join to share an evening of fun, food and music.

Lisa continues to operate her website and retail store while learning her new role as restaurateur at Kalays. She is already planning her next location in the local tourist hotspot of Prince Edward County where she has recently purchased a property and hopes to be open in the near future.    Her long term business plan includes franchising Kalays.

And what happened to the charming French Canadian Airman? He turned into a wonderful supporting husband that can be found helping in the kitchen at Kalays during his time off from the military.

And the rest, as they say is Maritime History…