INSPIRED TO GROW

It’s one helluva meet-cute that brought Stephanie Lipp and Leo Gillis to Bonavista, Newfoundland, and led them to create their gourmet mushroom production company. But while their mushroom-growing business initially appealed to them out of curiosity, it’s the opportunity to help their community become self-sustaining that cemented the business idea for them.

Originally from Mississauga, Ontario, they moved to Bonavista last year. A visit in 2017 and, later, a chat with Leo’s grandmother about the cost of renting out east led Stephanie to take a closer look at the idea of living there., and when I saw the prices of houses in Newfoundland, I said maybe we should just ditch our city life and move to Newfoundland, where we can afford a house,” recalls Stephanie.