What’s in a name? In the case of The Corner Store by missbrenna … more than you might think.

“I spent a lot of time trying to come up with a name,” Brenna says. “I was talking to my uncle about it, and he told me 'The Corner’, which is actually the name of the community right before you enter Inverness, has always had a store right there. Local people always colloquially referred to it as 'the corner store' even though that was never officially its name. Not long after that, I was visiting Halifax, and on Quinpool Road, I saw a business called 'The Brewery by Quinn'. That’s when the name started falling into place. It paid homage to the history of The Corner and tied in the name of my company, missbrenna, which had already had 10 years of brand building. The store is our little spin on a ‘corner store’ by missbrenna.

Before opening her store on December 3^rd, 2022, Brenna was busy as a graphic designer and photographer. A little more than 10 years ago, she launched the Love Cape Breton collection, which features memorable Cape Breton insignia on clothing, and paper goods – all of which are now proudly displayed on the shelves of The Corner Store. Beyond her own distinct line honouring her island home, the store offers fine foods, imported Italian products, coffee and tea, essential groceries, chocolates, baked goods, non-alcoholic beverages, soap, and local jewellery.

The day the store opened, there was a lineup out the door, which continued through the day.

“The community here is unbelievably supportive,” Brenna smiles.

To help with the initial business expenses and to gain expertise, Dwayne Beaton of Blackstone Construction recommended that Brenna contact Tanya McChesney from InRich CBDC.

“Tanya reviewed the business plan three times, and I asked her a ton of questions,” Brenna recalls. “She was really helpful, from the business plan to operations. CBDC gave us a small business loan and was really great with procurement!”

“We love the community at The Corner Store - it’s true connection to people and place. That community feeling … it’s an amazing feeling,” Brenna says warmly.

Brenna has big plans for the future. She would like to attend and host more “makers and bakers” pop-up events, as well as getting new local artisans into the shop. They’ve hosted popular crafting and cooking workshops over the past year, so there will be more of those in the months to come. And of course, when the weather warms up, there could be sun-soaked summer events on the back deck.

“I won’t say who but there is a certain local writer who calls our back deck his summer office,” Brenna laughs.