RIP Schanks Sports Bar and Grill franchise

[troutman]

I'm not sure COVID is to blame for some of the restaurants we see closing right now. They were struggling before the pandemic, and this was the last straw. In the next few months it will be sad to see if stronger businesses begin to fail too.

[guzzy]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

They were already struggling mightily before Covid. Brewhouse does everything they do but better. Massive real estate with bad food, high prices and bad service is never a recipe for success.

brewhouse has good atmosphere and cold beer. The food makes BP's feel like gourmet. It is such a vanilla menu. The food is awful.

[White Out 403]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

It’s weird that there’s people celebrating a bar closing...

Not the greatest place but definitely some fond memories there.

Job loss and business closure doesn’t make me happy

I don't think it's weird and I don't necessarily think people are celebrating. It was a terrible bar. The service was always total ####, food was overpriced and awful, and they didn't survive. What a shock. Free market at work.

[calf]

Sad thing is they probably could have taken real advantage of all that space in the age of social distancing.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Is the location in Edmonton staying open?

[SportsJunky]

Nm

[calgarygeologist]

I'm not sure if their space in the north is big enough, especially since they renovated and split off part of it for retail, but for a long time I hoped that Top Golf could take over that space. I'm still really hoping for a year round Top Golf facility to come to Calgary at some point.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I'm not sure if their space in the north is big enough, especially since they renovated and split off part of it for retail, but for a long time I hoped that Top Golf could take over that space. I'm still really hoping for a year round Top Golf facility to come to Calgary at some point.

And hit into nets?

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I'm not sure if their space in the north is big enough, especially since they renovated and split off part of it for retail, but for a long time I hoped that Top Golf could take over that space. I'm still really hoping for a year round Top Golf facility to come to Calgary at some point.

This makes a ton of sense. I've always wanted a big indoor chipping green. That north location is a massive building and much can be done with that space.

[nieuwy-89]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

Is the location in Edmonton staying open?

The Edmonton location (west end near 178 St) has been closed for quite a while, over a year I would guess.

The Schanks concept was very cool and unique when it first opened. But I agree with others that the service was always terrible. Also their hard line against "no minors" meant that it was a no go for families. They could have done very well going to a family friendly model before 8 pm.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by nieuwy-89

The Edmonton location (west end near 178 St) has been closed for quite a while, over a year I would guess.

The Schanks concept was very cool and unique when it first opened. But I agree with others that the service was always terrible. Also their hard line against "no minors" meant that it was a no go for families. They could have done very well going to a family friendly model before 8 pm.

I did see children in there at one point - playing mini golf and arcade games.

[nieuwy-89]

Originally Posted by troutman

I did see children in there at one point - playing mini golf and arcade games.

I called and asked a few times - both in Edm and Cgy and was always told no children.

[The Yen Man]

It's sad to see another Calgary staple closing down. Was it the best food? No, but I still have a lot of fond memories of watching Flames games there.

[socktape]

I know we had a kids hockey party at the north location a couple years ago and I believe they were doing birthday parties during the day on the weekends. The kids enjoyed it but like most have said, the food wasn't very good and service was iffy.

The CBVA used to have a tournament at the south location every year, truck in and out sand for the courts. The atmosphere there degraded to the point that they no longer seemed to really want them there. So they took the tournament to their main site.

[Zarley]

I never really understood the draw to these cavernous places - it's tough to create any type of atmosphere in a space that large. I'd much rather spend time in a small pub. The mini putt was fun though.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Zarley

I never really understood the draw to these cavernous places - it's tough to create any type of atmosphere in a space that large. I'd much rather spend time in a small pub. The mini putt was fun though.

The lack of natural lighting was always a bit jarring if you went to watch NFL games on Sundays. You'd pile in at 11 AM, watch a few games and then stumble out into blinding daylight.

Agreed with what others have said about the food and service, though. I was there last year or the year before to watch some NFL games with friends and had maybe the worst plate of chicken wings I'd ever eaten in my life.

[rohara66]

Outside of the odd company event that booked out a portion of the restaurant the place was always dead. Not surprised.

[TorqueDog]

Schanks North was one of my earliest Calgary 'things' when I first moved here in 2006. I'm sad to see it go more because of the memories than anything else. Until late last year, I hadn't been to a location in nearly 10 years.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by guzzy

brewhouse has good atmosphere and cold beer. The food makes BP's feel like gourmet. It is such a vanilla menu. The food is awful.

I've never really understood why it's been such a struggle to get some solid sports bars in Calgary.

The formula is pretty simple. Put some tvs all over (those are cheap these days). Supply cold beer. Provide a simple bar food menu.

When you go to a city like Seattle, these bars are everywhere.

In Calgary, and Canada generally, the places can never seem to get those 3 simple components in the same place. I can see the limitations in places where real estate has gotten out of control. However, in Calgary, how hard can it be to make a descent chicken wing and flatbread pizza? Plenty of places do it, but we can't get that and a few flat screen TVs in the same place for some reason.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by troutman

CP needs a new host for live drafts.

Buffalo Wild Wings on McLeod would be more than happy to host you guys.