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BOB BRADLEY, owner of The Unicorn Pub in Calgary, stands in front of his establishments original sign which had been packed away and forgotten.
It is now proudly displayed in the bar. |
A Small Piece of Unicorn Pub History Restored to Prominence
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
On my recent trip to Alberta I dropped into Calgary’s first and oldest Irish Pub – the Unicorn Pub on Eight Avenue - which was founded by the legendary Irish Rovers. The pub was named after their biggest musical hit The Unicorn, which is still the most requested song at their concerts.
The Irish Rovers sold the pub some years ago and it has since changed hands a few times. The present owner is Bob Bradley and I spoke with him about plans for St. Patrick’s at the Unicorn.
He said, “It is by far the busiest day of the year, so we are organizing our reservations and getting ready for the big day and the green beer. We buy 1,000 green Irish style derby hats which we give away to the first 1,000 customers through the door, and that’s a bit of fun. People put on their green derbys and drink green beer. We’re organizing music for the day and evening celebrations.
“The summertime is also a busy time for us and we have a nice patio that is kept very full. Stampede week is another big event for us.” Speaking about the tourist trade, Bob said, “We are members of Tourism Calgary and we do a flyer distribution with them. Last year we did a great tourist trade and really bounced back for the first year in a couple of years with lots of walk-by traffic.”
Bob Bradley recently uncovered a part of Unicorn Pub history when he located the pub’s original sign. It had been packed away and forgotten for years, and Bob told me he came across it quite by accident. It is now on prominent display in the pub. The Unicorn is located on the corner of Eight Avenue and First Street in downtown Calgary.
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