Harley’s Hardrock Saloon has been given the green light to serve liquor at its new 48 Street location following a ruling from the NWT Liquor Licensing Board on Monday.
The board approved a Class “A” liquor licence - a mandatory requirement for anyone operating a bar, lounge, tavern or other establishment where liquor is the main source of income - after an application was filed by Sara and Mike Handley, co-owners of the adult entertainment bar.
Harley’s Hardrock Saloon, billed as “Canada’s northernmost strip club,” and housed for decades at its former Franklin Avenue location, shut its doors at the end of November, announcing it would be moving into the former Lenny Burger building.
Owners took to social media to announce further expansions within the new building, as well.
The building, according to proposed plans, will feature a bar and adult entertainment stage on one side, with a “Denny’s-style” restaurant, dubbed Harley’s Vintage Diner, on the other. Sara said Harley’s is joining forces with Twin Pine Diner to serve up all-day breakfast 24-hours a day, with Twin Pine favourites, including chicken and waffles, on the menu.
The new location was set to open its doors weeks ago but delays pushed the launch back.
Under the NWT Liquor Act, business owners seeking the Class "A" licence must notify the public of their application 21 days before the board holds a licensing hearing.
Monday’s hearing was scheduled to ensure the applicants' eligibility, that the proper paperwork had been filed, and to gauge the sentiments of community residents and neighbouring businesses who may opposed Harley’s move into the one-time Lenny Burger lot.
Residents were invited to submit written or in-person objections. Neither were brought forth to the board on Monday.
Following a brief adjournment, the board OK'd the Class “A” liquor licence, a move co-owner Sara Handley said will allow her business to “finally open.”
“It’s been a long time, a long holidays,” she said.
“Blood, sweat, tears,” and about half a million dollars went into the move and planned expansion, said Sara, adding the idea has been in the works for around two years.
Sara told reporters the longstanding former home of Harley’s was in poor condition. “It has character but character doesn’t pay for maintenance bills,” she said.
Sara added she and her partner had eyed other locations but opted for a place “smack dab in the middle” of a lot of foot traffic.
The approval, she added, opens the door for her to continue “building an empire for my daughter, my husband, and the rest of the crew.”
“It just got a little bigger,” she said, following the decision.
With a licence now approved, Sara said drinks could potentially be served up as early as tonight but live entertainment, along with the restaurant next door - which will relocate chefs from Twin Pine Diner - won’t be ready until Feb. 1.
Sara wouldn't say whether or not Twin Pine Diner's current location, at the Arnica Inn on Franklin Avenue, will close its doors come Feb. 1. Owners of the diner, who recently took to social media to in search of parties "interested in buying our business," directed all media requests to Harley's.
Sara didn't go as far as to call the diner side - separated by two doors from the bar and entertainment side - a family restaurant in the traditional sense, but stressed kids are welcome to come.
Sara also aims to have an open mic night each Sunday.
If all goes as planned, the new building will also boast a tattoo and piercing parlor downstairs. Sara's T-Shirt Shack, housed beside the former Harley 's strip club, will also be moved into the new building for more space and "much more product, " said Sara.
Sara’s ambitious plans don’t end there.
She’s also moving ahead with efforts to establish a cannabis shop, which will be called Premium MJ.
For that shop, hurdles imposed by the NWT Liquor and Cannabis Commission will have to be cleared, including considerations about whether there is room in the market for a new retail seller.
Mike Handley told Yellowknifer that each addition will come in phases, and that his team is taking the development and expansion in "baby steps."
Coffee-craving Yellowknifers can stop by the new location for a cup of joe, served on the bar-side of the building.