Achi news desk-
If you take a trip down Route 114 in southeastern New Brunswick, one of the most scenic drives in the state, you’ll find a unique business owned by a husband and wife team.
Lorena DePrato-Najnar and her husband Paul Najnar are the owners of Fundy Coast Sea Soap and Sea Salt located in a tourism corridor between Waterfront-Albert and Alma.
This is their fourth full season of operation on the beautiful 35 acre property.
“I have the best office in the world,” said Paul.
Paul harvests water from the pebble beach at nearby Cape Enrage and then makes sea salt through solar evaporation in a greenhouse.
He said it was a pretty simple process.
“It’s not rocket science. This is a two-thousand-year-old, or multi-thousand-year approach. Basically, all I’ve done is adapt it to our climate here,” Paul said.
Lorena then makes handmade sea soap, artisan sea salt and a variety of other products including chocolate.
Fundy Coast Sea Soap and Sea Salt sells artisan sea soap, artisan sea salt and a variety of other products including chocolate. (Derek Haggett/CTV Atlantic)
It took her a few tries before she could master the art.
“Good old fashioned trial and error,” said Lorena. “I can’t tell you how many batches I mess up.”
Originally from Ontario, the couple moved to the region from Saskatchewan in 2017.
They were inspired by a vacation he took through the Maritimes.
“Coming here and seeing the trees in New Brunswick and feeling the energy of this province, I fell in love with it. Specifically Alma. I fell in love with Alma,” said Lorena.
A month or two after they returned home, an opportunity arose to buy the property they now own.
They wanted a new adventure and it was an opportunity they knew they had to take.
“We literally bought it sight unseen,” says Lorena.
On Sunday, Glen Brown from Alberta called in with his wife and sister who suggested they go during their vacation.
“She said, ‘You have to stop in here,’ so we stopped and I met the owner and he took us down and explained the process and it’s fascinating what you can do done with salt water,” says Glen.
It was always intended to be a tourism based business and living in a beautiful rural area makes the work more enjoyable.
“When I go to Cape Enrage, I go three times a week to get water, I’m usually the only one there. I get my water and I sit and I watch the world goes by,” said Paul.
For Lorena, the best thing is the space and the people.
“You come home. You come up over the hill past Hopewell Rocks. You come around the bend. It changes the mood. You see the Bay of Fundy as you come down the 114. It changes the dynamics of the day,” Lorena said.
Fundy Coast Soap and Sea Salt is on Route 114, and is open seven days a week. (Derek Haggett/CTV Atlantic)
Fundy Coast Sea Soap and Sea Salt is located at 6200 Route 114 and is open seven days a week.
Their products are also available throughout southern New Brunswick.
“The tourists seem to love it. The culinary market seems to love it,” said Paul. “This highway 114 is one of the busiest tourist routes in all of New Brunswick. We have thousands and thousands of cars pass by every year and if you see us, where we are, you can’t miss us.”
