Hot Honey and Homegrown Basil: South Harbour Pines brings wood fired pizza to the Cabot Trail
The building has been in the family for 50 years, but the latest business to exist at that address is Melinda Cook’s creation. Living up to her last name, Melinda is the owner and operator of South Harbour Pines Wood Fired Pizza in Dingwall on Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail.
Melinda’s professional life has come full circle. Growing up, she worked at a restaurant run by her parents – Danena’s Takeout in South Harbour. Back then, they made cheeseburgers and fries.
“I worked for my parents when I was 15, 16, 17,” she remembers. “We were very busy – I made a lot of milkshakes!”
In October of 2023, just as the Cabot Trail was closing down for tourist season, Melinda opened her very own spot – South Harbour Pines Wood Fired Pizza. Despite opening at a quieter time of year in Cape Breton, Melinda says the community received it very well.
“The locals keep us busy on evenings and weekends,” she explains. “In July and August, we average 80 pizzas a day!”
CBDC was there from the beginning, offering a start-up loan, which Melinda used for purchasing the equipment and giving the building some much needed renovations.
“It looks like a completely different building now - thank God for CBDC!” she says.
“It was clear from the start - Melinda loves her community and saw a need for it,” comments Ryan Ivey, Melinda’s CBDC Advisor at the time. “Whenever you have that passion for what you do, and the talent to do it well, you have the recipe for success. Coming home to share it with her community is something that will be treasured by both for years to come.”
South Harbour Pines pizzas are unique for many reasons. The dough is fermented for at least 24 hours to make it extra tender, then it is hand pulled and topped with fresh, locally sourced ingredients and placed “under the dome” – in a 850° to 900° oven – for just 90 seconds, turned frequently to avoid burning. It’s an interactive experience with an open concept kitchen, so diners can see the pizza being made.
The only mass-produced ingredients South Harbour Pines uses are cheeses and supplies from Saputo. Otherwise, Melinda grows her own herbs, including basil, and hand picks ingredients at various shops in Cape Breton, favouring local and Canadian products. She has even started growing her own tomatoes.
One of the restaurant’s bestsellers and Melinda’s personal favourite is The Carni – a meatlover’s pizza featuring sausage, Genoa salami, bacon, pepperoni, caramelized onion and a drizzle of hot honey. Another popular pie is The Fun Guy – as the name suggests, it’s topped with mushrooms, roasted garlic, white sauce, caramelized onion and basil oil.
Beyond pizza, South Harbour Pines also offers cold cut subs, calzones and baked sweets as well.
Melinda had a passion for making pizza well before opening her restaurant - while working in a very different field. Her film costuming career spanned 26 years and she still works on productions from time to time. She was involved in over 50 productions, including Liars as recently as September of 2024.
“Actually, I used to sell pizza to my co-workers in film – I used to make a roasted garlic and honey crust back then that was so good!” Melinda recalls.
In future, Melinda will continue to share her love of pizza with her customers, putting a seafood feature on the menu over the summer and eventually expanding her hours so that South Harbour Pines can be open for locals and tourists to come in and grab a slice year-round.