Pints are flowing again as Leopold’s Tavern opens inside Edmonton’s historic Strathcona Hotel

The iconic Strathcona Hotel is back in action on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton.

After years of renovations to preserve and upgrade the historic building, the first business opened its doors Monday.

Leopold’s Tavern has leased 3,500 square feet on the ground floor of the rebuilt landmark at the corner of Whyte Avenue and Gateway Boulevard.

“We just hope to do this place some justice,” said David Sauve, regional manager for Leopold’s Tavern —  a Saskatchewan chain that’s expanded throughout Western Canada in less than a decade.

Leopold’s Tavern has locations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, B.C., and even three in Calgary, but this is their first foray into Edmonton’s pub scene.

“It’s actually surreal, I would say. It’s really humbling to be able to get an iconic space like this and to get our hands on it.”

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Sauve said Leopold’s hopes to carry on the 130-year legacy of the Strathcona Hotel and pay homage to the former tenant: an iconic dive bar known as “The Strat.”

“We’ve got a drink called the ugly and it’s in the old Strat glasses. It’s a mixture of a lager and tomato juice and you slam it back. An ode to the old Strat,” Sauve said.

This has been a long time coming for the familiar venue taking up the ground floor of the rebuilt historic landmark from 1891. The opening brings back a feeling of nostalgia for old customers of The Strat.

“We would usually start out there or end there a lot of the time, and I mostly remember that it was back when you could smoke in bars,” customer Ryan Holmes said.

“The only food you could get was like a pickled egg, pickled sausages — we’d be daring each other to eat them and stuff like that.”

Every location of the Regina-founded bar chain is decorated to reflect the area it’s situated in, emphasizing neighbourhood charm and a warm atmosphere.

The chain was co-founded by a group of friends who took junk from their basements that their wives wouldn’t let them put in their houses and slapped it on the walls of the first location in Regina.

Among the items you can find at the original location are acoustic guitars, Saskatchewan Roughriders apparel, tire rims, licence plates, front pages of the Regina Leader-Post and more. Customers are encouraged to add their own flair to the walls.

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The bar’s name originates from Leopold George Duncan Albert, the eighth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. A giant poster of the Duke of Albany can be found at each location.

“A lot of people who use to frequent The Strat, a lot of old regulars are a little surprised at the decor,” Sauve said.

“They’re used to the sticky carpet and all the ‘amenities’ of the Strathcona Hotel.”

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2:40 Edmonton’s Strathcona Hotel building to enter into new era

Leopold’s Tavern is the first of many new businesses expected to move into the large building. A men’s hair salon is another tenant and there are a few other spaces still available.

“We actually have a spot that’s going to be in the back for tenants as well, that will face onto the back lane that also has a patio,” said Nathan Raju with Beljan Development.

“We’re about a few months out from being fully completed to allow for the public to be able to move through the building.”

There’s also a basement level for retail space and an atrium going up to the second and third floor.

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“Our goal for this whole area is to really make it the new centre ice of Edmonton,” Raju said.

“You can see the amount of vehicle traffic that flows and we really want to make this the heartbeat of Whyte Avenue.”

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The opening is serendipitous: it comes exactly two years after a fire that happened while redevelopment construction was underway. The fire began after sparks from an electric grinder ignited insulation in the hotel’s attic.

1:58 Investigators provide update on fire at historic building on Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue

The official grand opening of the Strathcona Hotel is expected in the late spring or summer, as more tenants fill the available space.

— With files from Ryan McKenna, The Canadian Press