Kelowna Pub Torn Down....

[dle]

Same topic different Pub. I see Luigi Banducci past away a few days ago. Remember Luigi's Pub in the Mission Shopping Center. Luigi's at one time pumped more beer than any other pub in BC. Not bad for a small little Pub. I believe it is now Prospera Bank.

Yup. Mission Park Mall owner Ted Callahan apparently came in one day notifying tenant's lease rates were doubling, (not 100% sure how true that is/was) so Luigi bought the Morrison Auto property across the road and built the new location to move their pub into, which is currently called Mission Tap House.

k so wait a sec....isn't Mission Tap House now what used to be Pheasant & Quail?

Also, I vaguely remember Luigi's pub - now was it a long skinny pub? Maybe I'm mixing up Luigi's with Ernie's? I didn't know Luigi but RIP sir. I do remember the pub next to Carmel's though as well....

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

We were at Luigis the day it opened, I think late Feb or early March of 75 or 76.
It was the first in BC.. as far as I know.. In B.C. tradition we Brought Cash..
A few years back in the Province there was an article on a pub down there supposedly the first. I either wrote a letter or emailed telling them it was not. They never responded go me... I take that as....? .

Luigis was not skinny it was kitty korner to the Urban Fairies. .
It was narrow as you came in, as the bar was on the right, but opened into a square or rectangle room
It had a huge mural on the wall, 3D in spots ..done by Josef and his merry band..
Josef was the Artist, formerly known as Joseph Schmidt. . Who was ....as he put it...
.........A. Bummer in the Summer, and a Printer in the Winter..

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

Josef at one time lived near the south end of I think it was Barlee Rd.. or the next one.
In front of the house was a deck with big pilings wrapped in fat rope, and tall plants..
As he put it, most folks had a landscape... but Josef had a Seascape. !!!!!

[WalterWhite]

Same topic different Pub. I see Luigi Banducci past away a few days ago. Remember Luigi's Pub in the Mission Shopping Center. Luigi's at one time pumped more beer than any other pub in BC. Not bad for a small little Pub. I believe it is now Prospera Bank.

Yup. Mission Park Mall owner Ted Callahan apparently came in one day notifying tenant's lease rates were doubling, (not 100% sure how true that is/was) so Luigi bought the Morrison Auto property across the road and built the new location to move their pub into, which is currently called Mission Tap House.

k so wait a sec....isn't Mission Tap House now what used to be Pheasant & Quail?

Also, I vaguely remember Luigi's pub - now was it a long skinny pub? Maybe I'm mixing up Luigi's with Ernie's? I didn't know Luigi but RIP sir. I do remember the pub next to Carmel's though as well....

Sorry - I skipped the Pheasant and Quail nom de plume and jumped straight to present day - but yes, the same property. Luigi’s was a long skinny and no windows as was the norm in those days, located at the end of row of shops in Mission Park mall that has DQ, KFC, and as another poster pointed out, Prospera Credit Union - which is the original location of Luigi’s.

[lesliepaul]

One and the same. It was called Morrison Auto before it became Avos. Owned by a great guy named John Morrison and dealt mainly in British models.

Before Avos Motors it was called Vale Motors, owned by Gunther Lavallee. Was the BMW dealership back in the 80's along with Saab and several other brands. I bought my 1984 Saab there from Gunther. Gunther sold business to Avos.

[dle]

Walter White said:

Sorry - I skipped the Pheasant and Quail nom de plume and jumped straight to present day - but yes, the same property. Luigi’s was a long skinny and no windows as was the norm in those days, located at the end of row of shops in Mission Park mall that has DQ, KFC, and as another poster pointed out, Prospera Credit Union - which is the original location of Luigi’s.

Okeydokey - I kind of think I might be mixing up old Ernie's with old Luigi's in remembering the long skinny pub with no windows! I do remember old Ernie's being next to Carmel's and still couldn't picture that pub as long and skinny but I had forgotten all about old Luigi's - the lights are coming back on now. Luigi's was the long skinny pub - final answer! (I think)

I wish one of them was still open - after all this thinking I'm thirsty! Ya okay I realize it's 6:00 a.m. but it must be 6:00 p.m. somewhere....

[LANDM]

We were at Luigis the day it opened, I think late Feb or early March of 75 or 76.
It was the first in BC.. as far as I know.. In B.C. tradition we Brought Cash..
A few years back in the Province there was an article on a pub down there supposedly the first. I either wrote a letter or emailed telling them it was not. They never responded go me... I take that as....? .

Luigis was not skinny it was kitty korner to the Urban Fairies. .
It was narrow as you came in, as the bar was on the right, but opened into a square or rectangle room
It had a huge mural on the wall, 3D in spots ..done by Josef and his merry band..
Josef was the Artist, formerly known as Joseph Schmidt. . Who was ....as he put it...
.........A. Bummer in the Summer, and a Printer in the Winter..

Good memory......yes, it was the first in BC. Back when drinking and driving wasn’t enforced or considered as negative as now.
We were just trying to remember the waitress' name.....can picture her perfectly.

[Anonymous123]

We were at Luigis the day it opened, I think late Feb or early March of 75 or 76.
It was the first in BC.. as far as I know.. In B.C. tradition we Brought Cash..
A few years back in the Province there was an article on a pub down there supposedly the first. I either wrote a letter or emailed telling them it was not. They never responded go me... I take that as....? .

Luigis was not skinny it was kitty korner to the Urban Fairies. .
It was narrow as you came in, as the bar was on the right, but opened into a square or rectangle room
It had a huge mural on the wall, 3D in spots ..done by Josef and his merry band..
Josef was the Artist, formerly known as Joseph Schmidt. . Who was ....as he put it...
.........A. Bummer in the Summer, and a Printer in the Winter..

The first what?

[forumdoug]

Though I'm not surprised to see the dilapidated building torn down, I'm really surprised that it: (a) took this long and that (b) it is being torn down to be replaced, on a permanent basis, with an expanded parking lot.

I don't know about you, but, save for maybe Christmas time, I haven't seen Orchard Park Shopping Centre's myriad parking lots at "full capacity" for well over a decade now. With the Sears & Sears Home stores likely about to be boarded & "scaffolded" up for renovation and demising into smaller format stores, they will not bring in the "car traffic" that big box stores once did. Moreover, even if they did want to put in more parking, why not section off the Dilworth Drive parking lot in front of the Sears full-line department store and put in a 2- to 3-storey parkade? To me, that pub's location is "prime" and would be well suited for a standalone CRU (a bank, perhaps, as TD Canada Trust could consolidate their nearby & arguably redundant Dilworth Shopping Centre & Spall Plaza branches into one, larger branch in a high-traffic location open seven days a week whilst generating ongoing operating cost savings in terms of occupancy & staffing) or possibly several small-ish (i.e., 15-30,000 square foot) outlet stores that could drive traffic to the mall.

Cheers,
Doug

[Jflem1983]

Though I'm not surprised to see the dilapidated building torn down, I'm really surprised that it: (a) took this long and that (b) it is being torn down to be replaced, on a permanent basis, with an expanded parking lot.

I don't know about you, but, save for maybe Christmas time, I haven't seen Orchard Park Shopping Centre's myriad parking lots at "full capacity" for well over a decade now. With the Sears & Sears Home stores likely about to be boarded & "scaffolded" up for renovation and demising into smaller format stores, they will not bring in the "car traffic" that big box stores once did. Moreover, even if they did want to put in more parking, why not section off the Dilworth Drive parking lot in front of the Sears full-line department store and put in a 2- to 3-storey parkade? To me, that pub's location is "prime" and would be well suited for a standalone CRU (a bank, perhaps, as TD Canada Trust could consolidate their nearby & arguably redundant Dilworth Shopping Centre & Spall Plaza branches into one, larger branch in a high-traffic location open seven days a week whilst generating ongoing operating cost savings in terms of occupancy & staffing) or possibly several small-ish (i.e., 15-30,000 square foot) outlet stores that could drive traffic to the mall.

Cheers,
Doug

There might be a silver lining. Market space for the farmers market ? I couod see that space being used on thursdays and saturdays or whatever days the market is gonna run next year

[forumdoug]

There might be a silver lining. Market space for the farmers market ? I couod see that space being used on thursdays and saturdays or whatever days the market is gonna run next year

I was thinking the opposite, actually. The "high & mighty" farmers' market "overlords," as they would seem to think that they are, need to stop living in the past by demanding to remain in a highly car-centric location. Though I haven't been to the Penticton one, I hear it's far better in terms of turnout, quantity of vendors and in vendor quality. For instance, the Kelowna one, from what I hear, has a lot of people peddling crocheted doilies & other extraneous trinkets and "soccer moms" selling their homemade, and unsatisfying, homemade jams, preserves and other baked goods. I'm not saying to move it to high-profile Bernard Ave, but something along a revitalized and closed off Clement Ave, which has few, if any transit buses, that would be impacted by its closure, or along a revitalized Ellis St between Queensway and Clement or even along St. Paul St., which is now undergoing a similar revitalization. So many better areas! Quit "clogging up" a high profile traffic intersection with your ingress and engress from the parking lot that is the current farmers' market. :(

Cheers,
Doug

[MAPearce]

Ted’s not a crusty old *bleep* - you may be thinking of his dad, Lloyd

Right ... Thanks for the correction and sorry to Ted C

[dirtybiker]

Lived very near Ernie's, RJ' M's, Tom's, gave it a try..Not for me.

Trying to strike up a game of Darts or Pool was nigh on futile.

All anybody did was sit and drink and talk about dogs, work and
Mexico.

Meh....

Also Agree with Doug that the Farmers Market needs to get the heck away from
their present spot, what a gong show.

[southy]

I was thinking the opposite, actually. The "high & mighty" farmers' market "overlords," as they would seem to think that they are, need to stop living in the past by demanding to remain in a highly car-centric location. Though I haven't been to the Penticton one, I hear it's far better in terms of turnout, quantity of vendors and in vendor quality. For instance, the Kelowna one, from what I hear, has a lot of people peddling crocheted doilies & other extraneous trinkets and "soccer moms" selling their homemade, and unsatisfying, homemade jams, preserves and other baked goods. I'm not saying to move it to high-profile Bernard Ave, but something along a revitalized and closed off Clement Ave, which has few, if any transit buses, that would be impacted by its closure, or along a revitalized Ellis St between Queensway and Clement or even along St. Paul St., which is now undergoing a similar revitalization. So many better areas! Quit "clogging up" a high profile traffic intersection with your ingress and engress from the parking lot that is the current farmers' market. :(

Cheers,
Doug

Doug, be careful what you wish for. Penticton's Downtown Farmer's Market takes up a good portion of the revitalized section of Main Street. It screws up traffic period - but that doesn't seem to matter to those in charge, ie: City, Downtown Association, Market folks. Ask the downtown merchants who front this market if it actually helps their business on Saturdays?
Answer would be no. Yes, it generates a lot of traffic, but that traffic isn't really there purchasing a whole lot. It has become more of a Saturday Social Event and let me show you my dog so your dog can see my do so the other dogs can get into a fight so like a dog day afternoon . I've spoke to a number of locals who say they avoid downtown Penticton at all costs on Saturday due to traffic, parking issues, getting around the closed streets, etc. Penticton has numerous other locations that would dojust as well for this, locations that would not interfere with local downtown businesses or traffic. I hope Kelowna consults and takes a good look at Penticton before making a decision. I do agree that the current location of Kelowna's market sucks. I have unfortunately got stuck in traffic going by there - not a pleasant experience.

[stevemic]

We were at Luigis the day it opened, I think late Feb or early March of 75 or 76.
It was the first in BC.. as far as I know.. In B.C. tradition we Brought Cash..
A few years back in the Province there was an article on a pub down there supposedly the first. I either wrote a letter or emailed telling them it was not. They never responded go me... I take that as....? .

Luigis was not skinny it was kitty korner to the Urban Fairies. .
It was narrow as you came in, as the bar was on the right, but opened into a square or rectangle room
It had a huge mural on the wall, 3D in spots ..done by Josef and his merry band..
Josef was the Artist, formerly known as Joseph Schmidt. . Who was ....as he put it...
.........A. Bummer in the Summer, and a Printer in the Winter..

The first what?