Bars, Night Clubs & Dives from Back in the Day

[The Unknown Poster]

 

Yeah thats the Canad Inns way.  They just closed Area nightclub, presumably to open up as something else but the whole Pembina HWY bar scene died a slow death.

 

 

The big appeal of Pembina bars was how cheap they were. I was always there for $.25 draft nights. It was perfect for university students. Fixed prices put an end to that.

 

Yeah, and the competition.  LId, Monty's, Wise Guys, Beach(Scandals), Coyotes, Pemby.  An enormous amount of people at bars on Pembina on the weekends.  And they'd shift based off a $0.25 price change.  If we had a friday dying, we could lower price a quarter and boom, we were packed.

 

The minimum pricing thing was a scam.  Before minimum pricing, people would go to the bar at 7:00 because it was so cheap.  After minimum pricing, people didnt go out til 10 because it was cheaper to pick up a case or mickey from the LC and pre-drink at home.  And that was the point of minimum pricing.  No one drank less.  There were not less people getting black out drunk.  That kid died because of a failure on the part of himself, his friends and the bar.

 

We used to have $0.75 shooters, $1 shots.  On weekends when prices were higher we'd still have "Saturator Saturdays" with triples for $3.

[Noeller]

Triples for $3...fml. I'm honestly scared to think how that would have affected my days at Brandon.....

[JuranBoldenRules]

 

 

Yeah thats the Canad Inns way.  They just closed Area nightclub, presumably to open up as something else but the whole Pembina HWY bar scene died a slow death.

 

 

The big appeal of Pembina bars was how cheap they were. I was always there for $.25 draft nights. It was perfect for university students. Fixed prices put an end to that.

 

Yeah, and the competition.  LId, Monty's, Wise Guys, Beach(Scandals), Coyotes, Pemby.  An enormous amount of people at bars on Pembina on the weekends.  And they'd shift based off a $0.25 price change.  If we had a friday dying, we could lower price a quarter and boom, we were packed.

 

The minimum pricing thing was a scam.  Before minimum pricing, people would go to the bar at 7:00 because it was so cheap.  After minimum pricing, people didnt go out til 10 because it was cheaper to pick up a case or mickey from the LC and pre-drink at home.  And that was the point of minimum pricing.  No one drank less.  There were not less people getting black out drunk.  That kid died because of a failure on the part of himself, his friends and the bar.

 

We used to have $0.75 shooters, $1 shots.  On weekends when prices were higher we'd still have "Saturator Saturdays" with triples for $3.

 

 

It was mostly a liability issue for the people holding the license and the MLCC.  I can't think of a place in Canada I've traveled in recent years that doesn't have those minimums now, even Alberta.  We used to go to Banff every year and each night there was a different special at a different bar, quarter drafts, dollar highballs.  Not anymore.

[The Unknown Poster]

And yet I go to Vegas and they hand me a beer for free when I sit at the VLT and no one dies.

[Rich]

And yet I go to Vegas and they hand me a beer for free when I sit at the VLT and no one dies.

 

You aren't allowed to talk about that.  What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.  

[iso_55]

And yet I go to Vegas and they hand me a beer for free when I sit at the VLT and no one dies.

There's always the taxis, limos & hotel bus drivers to run you over as you walk the strip if the drinks don't.

[Fan Boy]

And yet I go to Vegas and they hand me a beer for free when I sit at the VLT and no one dies.

Its not that no one dies , its just there isn't any river nearby. The desert does not give up its secret easily.

[gbill2004]

My buddies and me used to go to the Palladium (aka Get-laid-ium) every Thursday for 25 cent draft night. Every single time on the ride home around 2am my same buddy would start vomiting in the car and out the window because he was so wasted. Was a good time every Thursday night!

[The Unknown Poster]

Manitoba LC always thinks they know what they're doing when they dont.  The "safe serving" program or whatever it was called was another good example of fixing a problem that doesnt exist.  I remember they talked about potentially licensing bouncers.  They supposedly had some sort of focus group made up of bouncers and the only ones I know who were invited were the ones who were old school, throw punches first, ask questions later types, not the newer guys (like me) who saw the job for what it was becoming.

 

The silly metal detectors to make everyone have a false sense of security.  Just pointless. 

[TBURGESS]

Anyone old enough to remember Bogart's? 

And the Monty and the Constellation Club where old strippers went for their last show and the Zoo and the Marble Club and the.... Wholy crap I drank at a lot of places.

[The Unknown Poster]

 

Anyone old enough to remember Bogart's? 

And the Monty and the Constellation Club where old strippers went for their last show and the Zoo and the Marble Club and the.... Wholy crap I drank at a lot of places.

 

I remember hearing of Bogarts.  Where was it?

 

Monty's was my part of town.  When I was a kid, it was the "cool" place to go.  When I turned 18, not so much.  Scandals was the place.  Went there for my 18th birthday.  I remember the first time I went to the Palladium too.  It was empty but I liked the layout.  Monty's was too small.  And their bouncers had a bad reputation.

 

Wasnt Scandals originally called Stagger Lee's?

[Mark F]

I went to Bogarts a couple of times. nutty place. just a mad booze up, and the rest of it. hedonism.

[Fraser]

Buffalo Bills. End thread

[bigg jay]

Buffalo Bills. End thread

No love for Bullwinkles aka the oak?

[TrueBlue]

Buffalo Bills. End thread

 

Go a little deeper into T'cona to find the real gems.  The Central, The Spike, still around too.  It's like going into a time machine.

[Fraser]

Buffalo Bills. End thread

No love for Bullwinkles aka the oak?

It was safari or rum jungle when I was young. Buffalo Bills was where it was at.

[The Unknown Poster]

The Oak seemed to be where other Canad Inns staff gravitated too when we had a night off.  During my Boogie Nights days, we only had Tuesday and Sunday off.  Tuesday was the Oak and Sunday was Mondetta World Cafe.

 

The Spike is a disaster.  When I go there, which isnt often, I either have a really fun time or a terrible time.  No in-between.  Usually 8-10PM is when all the 35-50 year olds show up dressed as they did when they were 20.  After 10, the young attractive people come out looking for some weird dive-bar chic hang out.  Bar is too small, bad layout.  Staff is usually pleasant though.

 

I used to run weekly wrestling shows at Rookie's (The Central) generally in front of a crowd of 0-7 people.  Every single week.  For like 9 months.

[Mike]

 

Buffalo Bills. End thread

 

Go a little deeper into T'cona to find the real gems.  The Central, The Spike, still around too.  It's like going into a time machine.

 

 

The Spike is a beauty, love it there. Spent a fair amount of time at the Villa in North Kildonan in my university days too.

[Fraser]

Buffalo Bills. End thread

Go a little deeper into T'cona to find the real gems. The Central, The Spike, still around too. It's like going into a time machine.

The Spike is a beauty, love it there. Spent a fair amount of time at the Villa in North Kildonan in my university days too.

The villa is good but the curtis was better

[Fraser]

Buffalo Bills. End thread

Go a little deeper into T'cona to find the real gems. The Central, The Spike, still around too. It's like going into a time machine.

We went to the spike all the time. And rookies and the pandora. We called it the triangle. I also played in a band that rented space above flatlanders cycle. Ended up at the George after practice a lot.

[The Unknown Poster]

We used to do monthly shows at Sociables in Portage La Prairie.  We'd go out there early, eat the Chinese buffet across the street and then get a case and sit in our room until show time.  One day we asked about the basement bar and the manager warned us not to go in there.  Its the middle of the day, what could go wrong?

 

We walked down and literally, all activity in the place stopped.  It was dark, dingy, dirty and packed.  Every person stopped and looked at us.  It was an "Aboriginal hangout" and being white guys, we stuck out like a sore thumb.  But hey, everyone welcome right?  I start walking towards the bar and everyone is staring, glaring etc.  The bartender shakes his head.  We stop...and slowly back out.

 

I think Sociables burned down eventually.  Fun place.

[kelownabomberfan]

 

And yet I go to Vegas and they hand me a beer for free when I sit at the VLT and no one dies.

 

You aren't allowed to talk about that.  What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.  

 

 

except for STD's.

[sweep the leg]

 

 

Buffalo Bills. End thread

 

Go a little deeper into T'cona to find the real gems.  The Central, The Spike, still around too.  It's like going into a time machine.

 

 

The Spike is a beauty, love it there. Spent a fair amount of time at the Villa in North Kildonan in my university days too.

 

The Spike is the bar that time forgot.

[sweep the leg]

 

 

Buffalo Bills. End thread

No love for Bullwinkles aka the oak?

It was safari or rum jungle when I was young. Buffalo Bills was where it was at.

 

Buffalo Bills had a much less stabby vibe to it than The Oak. I never felt very safe in there.

 

Buffalo Bills & Silverados were our bars of choice in our early 20s...once I was too old for Pembina Hwy.

[bigg jay]

 

Buffalo Bills. End thread

 

Go a little deeper into T'cona to find the real gems.  The Central, The Spike, still around too.  It's like going into a time machine.

 

 

You forgot the Pandora and the Royal George.