Faces in the Crowd – Food For Thought

They came to Nova Scotia to further their education. They discovered a positive, accepting community in Antigonish and have decided to call it home.

Meet Cathy Lin and Melvin Tan.

Cathy hails from Canton, China where education is treasured.  “Study, study, study…” was the mantra in her community. “Education was everything,” she says.  She learned 3-D design in university and, when she decided to do a Masters degree, she discovered an internationally recognized university of the visual arts thousands of miles away: NASCAD, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Melvin grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was a good athlete and musician, learning how to sing, play drums, guitar and piano. With three uncles living in Toronto, his parents sent him off to Canada to finish high school. When things didn’t go as planned, he returned home. His parent agreed to give him a second chance and he made the most of it, completing his high school at prestigious Kings-Edgehill in Windsor, Nova Scotia where he learned discipline … and snowboarding. He played on KES’s 2004 provincial volleyball championship team.

Melvin was very interested in the food business and completed the hospitality and hotel management course at Compu College in Halifax. He worked in a restaurant, and his new friend (and future wife) Cathy ended up working in the same restaurant.

At the time of their wedding, Melvin was holding down three different jobs. One of his duties was making sushi. Bento Sushi told him about an opportunity at a large grocery chain in Antigonish. Neither he nor Cathy had ever been to the small university town. Their initial scouting trip occurred in July of 2012, shortly after their son, Ethan, was born. They were flabbergasted at the volume of traffic on the outskirts of the town, only to discover that this was due entirely to the road construction associated with the twinning of the Trans Canada highway!

They found the tree lined streets of the town “relaxing” and felt a positive vibe watching so many people out strolling. They were concerned about moving to a small community, having been city people for so long. They didn’t know a single soul but they had a gut feeling that this was a good work opportunity and they took the plunge.

The first year was tough, as they rented a house adorned with its own hornet’s nest inside, and didn’t meet any new people. Cathy’s mom came for a visit. “You don’t have any friends, “she said and immediately took to the streets to rectify the situation. She walked into Tim Horton’s and started to chat with some of the patrons. Not long after this, Cathy and Melvin made some new connections, none more important than Fran Wittgens, who introduced them to the International Potluck.

Cathy has established herself as a top -notch graphic designer in the community. And the sushi business is thriving.

But this young, energetic and entrepreneurial couple is dreaming big, and hopes one day to expand their food business by operating a food truck specializing in Asian food. They see great potential for Antigonish as a destination.

That’s food for thought.