Melrose Cafe on 17th to close after 23 years

[Regular_John]

It was never really my scene and given the myriad of other dining choices that are now in the area I can't say it's really surprising.

Melrose Cafe to close after 23 years

After 23 years, the Melrose Cafe & Bar is permanently closing its 17th Ave. location.

In a press release posted on the cafe's website, the owners say they want to focus their attention on the Cowboys Casino.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...ears-1.2493699

It was certainly the place to be during the 2004 cup run, and always seemed to be busy on warm summer nights.

[btimbit]

Writing was on the wall when their best chef left in 2009 IMO

[TurnedTheCorner]

Kind of surprised. I went there to play trivia a lot when a friend of mine lived in Bankview. That was before the Red Mile and Melrose was a destination. All things pass.

[Regular_John]

Also what's the over/under on the space being renovated into another Beer House with 800,000 beer varieties on tap?

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Also what's the over/under on the space being renovated into another Beer House with 800,000 beer varieties on tap?

I did hear rumblings a while ago that Brewsters was looking to move their downtown location to expand Beer Revolution instead of sharing the same building. Moving to Melrose's spot would be a good move

[ricosuave]

There is a new bierhaus going in on the corner of 14th and 17th...

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Also what's the over/under on the space being renovated into another Beer House with 800,000 beer varieties on tap?

Because that's a bad thing?

[PsYcNeT]

Melrose always seemed like a good place to catch some VD or step in some piss.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Because that's a bad thing?

Just been over done, and truth be told most of the beer houses seem to have trouble managing their stock. I've had more than a few experiences where I've had to order 2-3 different selections before finding something they had available.

On paper it sounds great, in practice it seems to be the illusion of selection.

[cam_wmh]

how unfortunate

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by ricosuave

There is a new bierhaus going in on the corner of 14th and 17th...

The Pint? That's open now.

[Bunk]

The meathead and creepy middle age dude quotient was very high at Melrose and the concept just started to feel very dated. Time for an upgrade. It'll get snapped up in a heartbeat

[normtwofinger]

Maybe it will return to a TGI Fridays.

[calf]

Maybe they'll have appropriately sized washrooms for the space now.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Bunk

It'll get snapped up in a heartbeat

My thoughts exactly - prime location, I don't see it staying down for long.

[SebC]

It's official... the playoff drought has a casualty.

[normtwofinger]

Flames Central should move there.

[Table 5]

I haven't been there since the late 90s when cheap wings/trivia was a thing amongst my friends, so I have no idea what it's been like inside, but driving by I always got the impression that it turned into a hang out for people who really wanted to be seen, and for dudes (middle-aged or otherwise) to show off their exotics/hogs.

Not really my scene, but what a fantastic location...hopefully it's something interesting and not a chain.

[KTrain]

While it was kind of a ######y place, they did open up their space for a lot of non-profit, tech and other social events at no cost.

[Otto-matic]

Atleast all the ######bags will move onto Cowboys now, that god forsaken hell hole.

According to a source with the 23-year-old bar -- a landmark watering hole on Calgary's busiest bar stroll -- staff were told of the closure at 3 a.m. Sunday after the usual Saturday shift came to a close, and Melrose ceased to be five hours later.

Although that's a ####ty way to let the staff know.