Name Change Back to Original - A Good Thing for The Unicorn
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
CALGARY - Calgary's first Irish pub opened for business in June 1979 by the world renowned folk group The Irish Rovers. In 2001, the Rovers sold the pub to new owners who changed the name to The Dubliner. Then, in 2003 Bob Bradley bought The Dubliner and changed the name back to The Unicorn.
On my recent trip to Calgary I stopped in to The Unicorn and spoke with Manager Candice Nash. I asked how their patrons have responded to the name change and she replied, "I would say right now that anywhere from 20 to 30 percent of our clientele came back because of the name change. Changing a name can be a good or a bad thing, but in this case it was a good thing."
CANDICE NASH (far left) the Manager at The Unicorn Irish Pub (Calgary's original Irish pub) with Ian Stogrin and Heather Edey.
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The previous owners left the structural integrity of The Unicorn explained Candice, "so when we took it over again we just had to knock out some walls, open it up and paint it." The pub does not feature live entertainment on a regular basis, only for special occasions, but there is a big party planned in September to combine both the 25th anniversary of the pub and its first year re-opened as The Unicorn.
There are also other promotions events Candice explained, "we have a promotion on long weekends when you come into The Unicorn and order anything, you are eligible to fill out one of our ballots and on the September long weekend, if you are the winner of the ballot, we will go to your house with a barbeque and a hot tub and have a big party for you at your house."
The menu staples are meat loaf, fish and chips, shepherd's pie and Guinness stew. Candice said, “we have just changed part of our menu and our goal is to have something for everybody on the menu.
"For instance we have some East Indian dishes and for appetizers we have the Kung Fu Platter which is a mixture of samosas, nachos and chicken wings and we always try to throw in something a little bit different. Parties can be arranged for any special events by just calling ahead. There is also a patio outside on Eighth Avenue which seats about 40 people and on any given day it's packed."
The Unicorn is located in the Lancaster Building at the corner of Centre Street and Eighth Avenue in downtown Calgary. For more information, visit: www.theunicorncalgary.com, or call (403) 234-8816.
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