669 Selkirk Avenue - Harrison Bros. Drug Store / Eddie's Restaurant and Billiards

 © 2026 Christian Cassidy

Place: 669 Selkirk Avenue
Address: Harrison Bros. Drug Store / Eddy's Restaurant and Billiards
Constructed: 1905 as a 27' x 56' store
Contractor: L. C. Jones
Owner: Harrison Brothers

Eddie's Restaurant and Billiards on Selkirk Avenue closed in 2024. Another old-time independent diner and a century-old pool hall has disappeared from the North End. Here's a look back at the building's history. See the bottom for a rolling history.

February 1, 1905, Winnipeg Tribune

According to city records, the building permit for this structure was issued in 1905 to contractor L. C. Jones for owners Harrison Brothers. It was originally numbered 667 Selkirk until around 1917.

Wilfred and William Harrison operated a drug store at 820 Main Street at Jarvis Avenue. This was part of an aggressive 1905 expansion that saw them build a new block at Main and Jarvis for their main store, and satellite pharmacies at 410 Selkirk Avenue at Andrews, 667 Selkirk Avenue at McKenzie. They also leased space at 410 Redwood Avenue at Salter.

It is not until 1907 that this address is mentioned in their ads, so the permit may have been issued in 1905, but it took a while to get around to construction.

There was a small suite at the back of the building, as store clerk William Forsyth is listed as living there in 1907. From time to time, other people associated with the building also lived at the back.

There was a second retail unit in the building numbered 667 1/2. It was home to Jack Cochrane's butcher shop and general store until 1909, then it became Moffat & Douglas grocery.

Harrison Bros. vacated the building in 1912 or 1913 and went back to operating just a single drug store at 820 Main Street. The grocery also moved out.

May 17, 1913, Winnipeg Tribune

Next to call the building home was McLellan’s Drug Store, owned by Frederick H. McLellan of Athol Street. By 1915, he added a second store at 797 Selkirk.

McLellan left around 1916, and the building was briefly home to Bering & Fielder confectionery.

The Kuzmas in the 1931 census, Library and Archives Canada

The building's first iteration as a pool hall came in 1918 as Kraft Bros. Billiards. The owners were Isadore S. and Joseph Kraft, both previously grocers. Isadore lived at 606 Stella Avenue, and Joseph at 733 Redwood Avenue.

The building and business were bought in 1918 by Andrew Kuzma, who would be associated with this space for decades to come.

Andrew and Katherine Kuzma were Ukrainian but born in Austria and came to Canada as children around 1900. Andrew initially worked for the CPR, and the couple eventually ran a grocery store at 651 Redwood Avenue. They first lived at 625 Redwood Avenue and by 1930 were at 860 Manitoba Avenue. 

Census entries and their obituaries indicate they had no children. 

August 25, 1921, Winnipeg Tribune

Running a North End pool hall was not always smooth sailing, and Kuzma had some break-ins, robberies, and other excitement to deal with.

One afternoon in August 1921, a police officer heard "excited murmurs and the clunk of coins" coming from the pool hall and walked in. He found eight men around a table of coins playing "spin the top" (likely a teetotum).

The men were arrested and fined a total of $177. Kuzma, who allowed the gambling to take place on his premises, got the biggest fine of $50.

Surprisingly, that was the only gambling offence, and there were no alcohol infractions noted in the newspapers of the day for the pool hall. (Though I am sure there were many!)

In December 1933, Kuzma was walking to his Manitoba Avenue home just after midnight with the day's takings when two men jumped from behind his gate and tried to rob him at gunpoint. Instead of handing over the money, he put up his fists and lunged at them. Surprised by his reaction, the men fled.

Kuzma told police that he may have recognized the men and gave detailed descriptions. There's no mention of arrests in subsequent newspapers.

October 28, 1946, Winnipeg Tribune

Another dangerous situation arose one night in October 1946 when Kuzma was attempting to evict someone who pulled a knife and began swinging.

Kuzma was cut on the finger before the man's buddies dragged him out. Police were called, and "Big Johnny", a local thug, and two of his followers were arrested.

Katherine Kuzma died in 1959.  Andrew died in 1964.

According to street directory entries, Kuzma sold the business in 1947, but his obituary states that he retired in 1956. He may have stayed on as a silent partner or an employee for a few years after selling.

The pool hall went through a number of short-term proprietors after his tenure:

1947 - Andy's Billiards, Andrew Kalyn, proprietor
1950 - Joe's Billiards, Joe Kiwalik, proprietor
1954 - William's Billiards, William Bicko, proprietor
1955 - Semkiw Billiards, John Semkiw, proprietor

In 1958, it became Al's Billiards, owned by Al Owsher, who lived at 137A Harford Avenue. His wife, Daisy, was a saleslady at Dayton's clothing store on Portage Avenue. The couple had previously operated the Kirkwood Cafe at 3240 Portage Avenue in St. James.

There was a second retail space in the building, numbered 771 Selkirk, that had been added by Kuzma around 1919. In the historic exterior photo above, you can see a second door on the left side. (This is where the modern-day building's kitchen is.)

The space was always a barbershop, and until 1943, a dozen or so different barbers called the space home. Stability came in 1944 when it became Peter's Barber Shop.

Peter Nykolaychuk was born in Poland to Ukrainian parents and came to Canada in 1912 at the age of 20. The 1931 census shows him as a lodger at 584 Pritchard Avenue, which was the Sciak family home, and had six other lodgers also born in Poland to Ukrainian parents.

When Peter finally retired in 1960, it became Ed's Barber Shop, owned by Edward "Eddy" Koranicki of 702 Aberdeen Avenue. The following year, he is listed as the proprietor of the pool hall, but continued to use the "Al's Billiards" name for several years.

Koranicki was born in Winnipeg on September 6, 1934, and raised in the North End where he would sneak into the pool hall as a youth. He recalled in one interview that it was a rough, "spit on the floor" kind of place at the time. 

Later newspaper interviews state that Koranicki took over the pool hall business in 1955, but that doesn't appear to be the case. 

According to street directory listings, in 1955, he was an employee at Dominion Bronze and living with his widowed mother Anna and some other siblings at the family home at 702 Aberdeen Avenue. The following year, he married his first wife Iris, and they moved to 129 Burrows Avenue. The two would go on to have a daughter, Tracy.

Koranicki continued to be listed as a worker at Dominion Bronze, and 1958 he became a barber for the RCAF for a couple of years. He continued to live at 702 Aberdeen.

Koranicki took over the pool hall from Al Osher in 1961. Despite the ownership change, the two businesses operated as Al's Billiards and Ed's Barber Shop, until the mid-1970s.

Koranicki wanted to rid the place of its seedy pool hall image and make it a community hangout. The late-night hours were shortened, and in 1969, he took out a classified ad seeking a short order cook for a “newly established snack bar in billiards lounge”.

Joining him in the restaurant side of the operation was his second wife, Marie, who left a career at MTS. 

March 22, 1977, Winnipeg Free Press

The addition of the snack bar in 1969, which was referred to as "Eddy's Place" in street directories a couple of years later, also prompted Koranicki to rename the pool hall to "Ed's Billiards".

Soon, it was the food at 669 Selkirk Avenue that was receiving mention in the local papers. In particular, its corned beef sandwich was singled out as one of the best in the city.

In 1977, Koranicki took out a $5,000 building permit to do an extensive interior renovation of the building. Some of the pool tables were removed so that booths could be added along the east wall. The familiar orange and brown colour scheme would welcome customers for decades to come. 

Eddy's became that positive neighbourhood hangout Koranicki wanted. It was noted in several newspaper write-ups that North Enders who "made it" as lawyers and other professionals would often come back to visit and keep in touch with the old neighbourhood. It wasn't uncommon to see someone in an expensive suit sitting at the lunch counter with someone in grubby jeans.

May 1, 1992, Winnipeg Free Press

When Eddie Koranicki died of cancer in 1992, around 1,000 people showed up at his prayers and funeral. In a gathering at Eddy's Place after the service, people told the Free Press that he was more than just a pool hall owner: "To the young toughs who hung out in this neighbourhood, he was a father, a provider, best friend, confidant."

The mural tribute to Eddy and Marie Koranicki was added to the building in 2002 by Richard Manoakeesick.

Marie Koranicki ran the business for a short ie after Eddy's death, then it changed hands several times until it returned to the family fold in 2012 when Tanis Desrochers and Daniel Gougeon, the son of Eddy's sister-in-law, took over the place.

Eddy's Place closed with little fanfare in 2024.

Interestingly, there is some Eddy's Place DNA in another North End institution. Linda Konopada, Koranicki's daughter, worked at Eddy's as a student in the 70s and early 80s. In 1987, she bought a vacant store on Salter Street at Aberdeen Avenue and renovated it into Luda's Deli.

The owner of Sargent Taco Shop on Sargent Avenue purchased the building and reopened it as a second location i may 2025 keeping the Eddy's Place name. As part of the transformation, the pool tables were sold off and 669 Selkirk's 106 years as a pool hall came to an end.

The reopening lasted a short time. The owner says he has plans to renovate and reopen it soon as a Mexican-style restaurant. 

Summary of main businesses at 669 Selkirk Street over the years:

1906 - 1912: Harrison Bros. Drug Store 

1913 - 1916: McLellan’s Drug Store (Frederick H. McLellan) 

1916 - 1917: Bering & Feilder Confectionery 

1918 - 1919: Kraft Bros. Billiards 

1919 - 1946: Andrew Kuzma Billiards 

1947 - 1950: Andy's Billiards, Andrew Kalyn, proprietor 

1950 - 1954: Joe's Billiards, Joe Kiwalik, proprietor 

1954 - 1955: William's Billiards, William Bicko, proprietor 

1955 - 1958: Semkiw Billiards, John Semkiw, proprietor 

1958 - 1961: Al’s Billiards, Al Owsher, proprietor 

1961 -  1969: Al’s Billiards, Ed Koranicki, proprietor 

1969: Name changed to Ed's billiards and addition of Eddy's Place Snack Bar

1977 - 1978: Interior renovations to expand restaurant, barber shop disappears 

1979: Business referred to as simply Eddy's Place
2024: Eddy's Place Closes
2025: Sargent Taco second location 
2026: Vacant

The information above is taken from street directories, which are not as accurate as censuses and may be out ny a year. Also, the information published in street directories is normally from the year before. For instance, something listed in the 1970 directory was recorded in 1969 as street directories went on sale in January. he above years are "actual" years, not street directory years.

712 rue Langevin Street - Retail store

 © 2026 Christian Cassidy.

Place: Former grocery store / Prairie Vélo

Address: 712 rue Langevin Street (Map)
Constructed: 1946
Builder / Architect: Unknown

Chataway’s 1912 Map of Greater Winnipeg. Star is 712 rue du College

According to city records, the building at 712 rue Langevin Street was constructed in 1946. Its initial address was was 712 rue du College, but was changed in 1948 after St. Boniface city council instructed its administration to come up with a “new and exclusive” name for the street.

The need for the change was likely due to ongoing efforts by Winnipeg and its 12 surrounding municipalities to stamp out duplicate street names that caused confusion for the post office, delivery drivers, and emergency services.  Descriptive street names such as College, River, Cathedral, Park and Church were the most troublesome.

In the case of "College", the cities of Winnipeg, St. Boniface and St. James all had a street by that name. Winnipeg won the "College" battle as it kept its College Avenue. St. James changed its College Street to Collegiate Street, and St. Boniface created rue Langevin Street.

Langevin was likely chosen to honour Archbishop Langevin who died in 1915. 

As for the name of the cross street, that ended in a stalemate, as Winnipeg and St. Boniface both have a Notre Dame to this day.

721 Langevin in 2007, Google Street View

712 Langevin Street has spent most of its 80 years as a neighbourhood grocery store. The initial owners were Thomas and Cecile Anderson, who lived nearby with their four children at 608 rue St. Jean Baptiste.

The Andersons initially got into the grocery business in 1942 when they took over Pelletier Bros. grocery store at 235 av Notre Dame at Langevin (now demolished). In 1946, they built a new and likely much larger store kitty-corner to the old one at 712 Langevin. There is no information about the architect or builder on file with the city.

Through the 1940s, Thomas is also listed in city street directories as an employee at the “public markets”. This was likely what is now referred to as the former Union Stock Yards on Marion Street as the name of the company that owned the yards was Public Markets Ltd.

January 12, 1950, Winnipeg Tribune

A year after it opened, the store became known as Anderson’s Red and White Store.

The American-based Red and White grocery consortium came to Winnipeg in 1927, just ahead of the big American grocery chains Safeway and Piggly Wiggly in 1929. Each Red and White store was independently owned and operated, so they had no consistent size or look.  The benefits to signing on with Red and White included pooled advertising dollars and product purchasing power.

Red and White had forty stores in Winnipeg and its suburbs by 1932, most of them were small corner stores in the inner-city. By 1945, there were 84 stores in Winnipeg and more than 200 elsewhere in Manitoba. The chain peaked at just over 1,000 locations across the prairies in the late 1930s.

Aside from its name being listed in various Red and White ads, neither the store nor the Andersons were written about in newspapers of the day. The one exception was the arrest of a St. Boniface youth gang in April 1951 after a string of late-night retail break-ins, including one at Anderson’s Red and White.

Cecil and Thomas Anderson's obituary photos

The Andersons  sold the grocery store in 1951 and took over the Dairy Maid Soda Bar at 190 av Tache Avenue that had previously been run by Leo and Helene Soenen (now demolished). The restaurant was open from lunchtime into the evening and employed a couple of waitresses.  

A decade later, they sold the restaurant and Thomas went to work for Anderson Livestock Ltd. It was a new family business run by his brother Robert and located at Thomas’ old workplace at the Union Stock Yards. 

Thomas Anderson died in 1987. Cecile Anderson (nee van Belleghem) died in 1995.  

1956 Red and White banner

The next owner of the store was Marcel Marcoux, who was the butcher at Anderson’s Red and White. He renamed it Modern Food Centre and continued under the Red and White banner. He and wife Marie-Jeanne lived in a new brick house nearby at 325 av Notre Dame.

Mrs. Marcoux had a career of her own. Her obituary notes that she had an independent spirit and was “a career woman working for various security firms and investigations.” 

Around 1956, the family moved on when Mr. Marcoux took a job as a shipper at Cusson Lumber.

Mr. Marcoux died in 1986. Mrs. Marcoux died in 2025.

May 8, 1958, Winnipeg Free Press

In 1957, Ernest Marion Bucko and wife Marie-Therese (nee Clement) of rue 437 St. Jean Baptiste took over the store. The following year, they signed on with the Tom-Boy chain.

Western Grocers / Westfair Foods of Winnipeg, which had purchased the Red and White franchise for Western Canada in the 1920s, also purchased the Western Canadian rights for the St. Louis, Missouri-based Tom-Boy brand in 1953. Like Red and White, Tom-Boys were independently owned stores that pooled their resources for advertising, purchasing, and distribution benefits.

The Red and White name eventually disappeared from Manitoba's retail landscape, and the owers of its larger stores were invited to become a Tom-Boy. The first 15 Winnipeg Tom-Boys opened in 1954.

The Buckos ran the store until about 1962, when Ernest left to become a salesman at N. L. Brosseau Realty.

September 18, 1963, Winnipeg Free Press

The store was taken over by Norman R. and Kay Grihault of 1107-595 River Avenue in Winnipeg. Norman ran the store, and Kay was a full-time accountant at Snowdon’s Furniture.

Ernest had experience in the grocery trade. In 1955, he was a clerk at a Shop Easy store, and by 1959 he ran the Tom Boy at 194 Tache Avenue.

The Tom-Boy affiliation of 712 Langevin disappeared in 1965 when the store became Therrien’s Superette Grocery, run by Celeste Therrien, who lived at 11 Burning Bush Bay.

In 1983, it became Food Town Grocery operated by George Gugins.

January 12, 1994, Winnipeg Free Press

The store became the fourth in the Pal’s Supermarket chain in January 1994 and was managed by H.P. Singh. 

Pal's was owned by the Pal family that had been in the local grocery business since 1979. A fifth store on Henderson Highway opened in May 1995, and a sixth on Westminster Avenue in 1998. The Langevin store was dropped from the chain in June 1999.

The store then began a run as Langevin Supermarket until 2012, when it became Timboctou Market, operated by brothers Salim and Dave Traore. It was a Canadian-style convenience store that stocked some West African products as well.

After nearly 80 years, 712 rue Langevin's run as a neighbourhood grocery store ended.

It was purchased in 2024 by the owners of Prairie Vélo bicycle shop, and the building was extensively renovated. It is a second location that specializes in adaptive cycling and custom mobility products, and is open by appointment.

More:

Prairie Vélo ouvre une boutique à Saint-Boniface - La Liberté

336 William Avenue - Boulton Motors Building

 © 2026, Christian Cassidy

Place: Boulton Motors / Little Brown Jug
Address: 336 William Avenue (Map)
Constructed: 1927
Architect: J. N. Semmens
Contractor: Borrowman and Jamieson
Cost: $50,000

336 William Avenue is a relative newcomer to its surrounding neighbourhood of former factories and warehouses that date back to the late 1800s or early 1900s.

This land was likely vacant until the current building was constructed on it, as street directories show no addresses between 330 William Avenue and Hargrave Street (then known as Charlotte Street) until it was built in 1927.

It was likely a side yard or the forecourt for the neighbouring 328/330 William Avenue, which, despite its appearance, was constructed in 1912. It was home to Plewes Automobile Company, a local sales agent for REO motor vehicles, then a dealer for the Waterloo Manufacturing Co., makers of farm tractors.

When Waterloo Manufacturing relocated to Portage la Prairie in 1919, the building and this land sat empty through the 1920s.

In 1927, the Robert J. Henderson Manufacturing Co., a garment maker on Bannatyne Avenue, funded the construction of the current $50,000 building at 336 William Avenue.

In its original configuration, the building measured 60 by 100 feet, was one and a half stories tall, and considered "absolutely fireproof" due to the use of steel trusses, Fort William brick, and a concrete floor.

The architect was John Nelson Semmons (also see). He was a prolific architect with dozens of buildings to his name. By this point in his career, he had designed about a dozen Winnipeg schools, including Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute, and the St. John's Library.

The contractors were Borrowman and Jamieson. The firm was established in 1925 by experienced engineers L. F. Borrowman and Charles Jamieson. Their work as partners to this point included a major expansion of the Grace Hospital on Preston Street (see above) and Mulvey School.

The Grace expansion brought architects Semmons and Borrowman together with Jamieson months before the construction of 336 William. 

Robert J. Henderson had a deal in place before construction started to lease the building to the newly formed Boulton Motors, which had signed a contract to be the Winnipeg distributor of U.S.-owned but Canadian-manufactured Gotfredson Trucks.

Gotfredson specialised in heavy-duty trucks with capacities of one to five tons used in industries such as cargo transportation and construction. They also made taxis, small buses, and fire engines. It first entered the Manitoba market in 1923 with a corporate-owned dealership on Rupert Avenue.

Boulton Motors Ltd.'s manager was Albert S. Boulton, who was also president of City Dray Co., a local moving company. 

Gotfredson ran into financial difficulty in 1929, and while it didn't completely disappear, the large-scale truck manufacturing ended. As a result, Boulton filled the gap by signing up as the Manitoba distributor for Diamond T trucks in 1930. 

June 4, 1932, Winnipeg Free Press

Boulton Motors moved to Princess Street in 1932, and a long list of vehicle-related firms moved through this space. 

It started in 1934 with Julius S. Siefried's Service Garage, Monarch Motor Sales from 1938 to 1948, and Red River Motor Coach Lines, Through the 1950s. In the 1960s, various auto repair and body shops came and went.

October 19, 1968, Winnipeg Free Press

In 1968, the building became a wallcovering showroom for the adjacent Western Paint that lasted into the 1990s. (The company is nearing 120 years in business!)

There were some shorter-term tenant such as Evelyn Seida's Shaw (art) Gallery, and an antiques and collectibles store. through the early 2000s, it was home to DesignType, a print shop and graphic design place.

The building was empty by 2015, when Brian Scharfstein and Pam Cipryk, who own Canadian Footwear at the end of the block, bought the building.

A chance meeting in the parking lot between Scharfstein and Kevin Selch led to the building being upgraded and the establishment of Little Brown Jug Brewing Company, which officially opened in April 2016. (You can read more about how this came about in this Free Press story.)

345 Donald Street - Herzig Building / Manitoba Savings Office Building / Giant Tiger

  © 2026, Christian Cassidy

Place: Herzig Building / Manitoba Savings Office Building / Giant Tiger store
Address: 245 Donald Street, (Map)
Constructed: 1926
Architect: Pratt and Ross

Contractors: James Reid (excavation), Wallace and Aikins Ltd. (construction)
Cost: $57,000

Streetscape ca 1915. Knox Church bottom right. (McInnis postcard collection)

In May 1926, New York-based developer B. H. Herzig purchased land at the northeast corner of Donald Street and Ellice Avenue. The lot was home to the third iteration of Knox Presbyterian Church until it sold the property in 1914 to fund the construction of its present building overlooking Central Park. 

Herzig, who had been coming to Winnipeg for years, usually to attend fur auctions, said this was the first year where he felt the city's future prospects and the low cost of land were the right combination to purchase. He said: "There is no limit to the money which we will put into our proposed building so long as the property will give an equitable return for the investment.". Ideas he floated included a hotel, apartments or commercial block.

March 9, 1926, Winnipeg Tribune

In the first week of September 1926, a $37,000 building permit was issued to Herzig's newly created Donald Realty Corporation and local real estate firm Aronovitch and Leipsic for a single-storey with full basement block designed by local architects Pratt and Ross.

It would be constructed of brick and concrete and measure 117 x 120 feet. James Reid began excavation right away and Wallace and Aikins Ltd. began construction by the end of the month.

Given Herzig's hope for the lot, the building may have been constructed so that additional floors could be added later, something not uncommon at the time.

February 11, 1927, Winnipeg Tribune

The first business to open here was Gibson's Bowladrome on January 6, 1927 in the basement level, which was numbered 351 Donald Street. It was a 20-alley bowling parlour with a lunch counter and confectionery store, and the third bowling venue owned and operated by Charlie Gibson.

As the building was still under construction, only eight alleys opened that night. This was just enough to serve the two bowling leagues that had registered to use the space.

Gibson's sons, Leslie, Ray, and Ormee, took over the bowling chain in 1958 and ran it until the last brother died in 1972. The Bowladrome was closed by 1974. 

July 3, 1928, Winnipeg Tribune

The anchor tenant of the building, which took up 8,000 square feet of the main floor, was the Province of Manitoba Savings Office, which opened on April 1, 1927.

The bank was established by the province in 1920 with the motto "Conducted to foster the thrift and welfare of the people". Its deposits were used mainly to fund rural and agricultural loans where credit was tougher to come by. (Ontario and Alberta also had provincial banks for much the same purpose.)

It opened two branches in Winnipeg, one downtown and one in the North End, as well as in Brandon, Portage, Stonewall, Dauphin, and Ethelbert. The downtown branch was on the main floor of the Lindsay Building. It got a good deal by moving, as it paid $1,250 per month for its new $8,000 square feet versus $964 per month for 3,857 square feet at its old location.

By 1924, the Provincial Savings Office boasted 24,000 depositors, more than $9 million on deposit, and a surplus of $60,000. By the start of 1927, it had 37,000 depositors and $15 million on deposit.

April 28, 1932, Winnipeg Tribune

Manitoba's Savings Office closed abruptly in February 1932. A government committee that looked into the closure identified six men, including two Conservative MLAs, a Conservative MP, and the provincial organiser for the Conservative party, who spread rumours that the bank "was broke" and urged friends and colleagues to withdraw their cash.

The rumours spread rapidly through rural communities and created a run on the bank, causing its temporary closure. It never reopened.

The committee found that the bank was not broke. Any transactions, its liquidity, and the government credit backing it up in case of an emergency were all within legal parameters. It seems the Conservatives were merely trying to embarrass John Bracken's Liberal-Progressive coalition government.

Within days of the closure, the accounts of its depositors were transferred to private banks and nobody lost any money.

The Savings Office took up just 8,000 of the main floor's 15,000 square feet. The rest was a series of little shops; three along Donald Street and four along Ellice Avenue.

Over the years, these contained small businesses such as a pharmacy counter, tailor, jeweller, taxi dispatch office, pet shop and millinery.

The Cave supper club opened in 1935 in the old Savings Office and some of the retail shop space. The club was owned by Max King and was notable for its cave-like interior using burlap covered with plaster and mood lighting. King opened a Cave in Vancouver and Edmonton a couple of years later.

There was a local house orchestra and nightly floor show, but the Cave did not bring in many top acts like other supper clubs in the city. Its fare more often resembled that of a vaudeville show than a night club.

One July 1942 offering included Shirley Bush, military tap dancer, Wilfrid Dubois, juggler, and the De Sylva Twins dance duo. Singer and comedian Hattie Noel appeared at the Cave in January 1941 and was so popular that she was booked for a two-week stay the following year.

The imported floor shows trailed off due to the difficulty in booking travelling acts during the war. It was then left to local singers and musicians to take up the slack.

A fire destroyed the interior of the Cave in December 1944. The other businesses in the building, Ida McCullough's millinery shop and the Bowladrome, got smoke and water damage. The club was renovated and reopened a few months later.

The Cave's lease was not renewed, and it closed in May 1947.

July 31, 1947, Winnipeg Tribune

In late 1947, Investor's Syndicate (now IG Wealth Management) moved its head office to the building and took up the entire 15,000 square foot first floor with the exception of a little storefront for Ray Hamerton's musical instrument shop. The  A. L. Patterson art studio joined the Bowladrome in the basement.

In 1956, Investors began construction on a custom-built office building on Broadway and vacated 345 Donald in late 1957.

November 15, 1959, Winnipeg Free Press

In 1959, another provincial government agency, this time the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, leased the entire main floor of the Herzig Building to be its only downtown liquor store, replacing a much smaller one on Fort Street. It would also be home to the MLCC's liquor enforcement inspectors.  

Manitoba Liquor Control Commission Store No. 2, as it was officially known, opened on November 16, 1959, and caused instant traffic chaos. The agency intended to purchase a neighbouring service station lot, but that deal fell through at the last minute. As a result, the store had no customer parking.

Liquor shopping at that time was much quicker than today, as there was no store to browse around. You walked in, wrote what you wanted on a slip, brought it to the counter, and someone fetched it from the back for you.

It was immediately found that customers were not going to pay for parking in a commercial lot a block or two away for a five-minute transaction. Instead, they parked in loading zones, double-parked on the street, or circled the block endlessly waiting for a meter to open up.

The city was unimpressed by the gridlock that had been created. In early 1960, it converted the dozen parking meters nearest the store to 15-minutes only. This angered other retailers near the intersection whose customer required more time in their stores.

The MLCC began planning for a new "self-serve" liquor store in the area in 1973. Continued parking woes and a doubling of its lease rate meant that the Herzig Building was not in consideration. It instead chose a former service station site a block away at Ellice and Hargrave and designed it with eleven customer parking spots out front. It opened on September 3, 1974.

August 6, 1975, Winnipeg Tribune

The next major tenant opened in June 1975 and took up the whole main floor and basement. 

In the early morning of March 11, 1975, a fire started in the floor below a beauty salon in a two-storey building at Portage Avenue and Colony Street. It made its way into the neighbouring United Army Surplus Sales and created a small inferno. Three businesses were completely burned out, and several others suffered smoke and water damage.

Owners Ned and Fred Begoch vowed to rebuild at the Portage and Colony site and the new store opened in March 1978. They operated both stores, plus a third in Garden City Square that opened in 1985, through to 1986 when the 245 Donald Street location closed.

Crystal Palace sign, December 1996. (City of Winnipeg Archives)

When United Army Surplus closed, the building was ready for another reset. 

Crystal Palace Snooker Lounge and Deli was created in 1981 at 299 Kennedy Street. It moved into larger premises at 345 Donald in late 1985, and by February 1986 was hosting the Manitoba Open snooker championship.  

An early owner was Henry Nogiec, who was well-known in the Canadian snooker community and at times represented Manitoba at national events. By the early 1990s, the owners were Ron Brown and Wayne Clisy.

Crystal Palace closed around 1996.

 

October 19, 1985, Winnipeg Free Press

Long-time Toronto discount retailer The BiWay (later shortened to BiWay) arrived in Winnipeg in late 1985 with stores at Richmond West Shopping Centre, Cottonwood Shopping Centre, and Garden Oaks Shopping Centre. By July 1986, it had six Winnipeg stores, including 345 Donald Street.

Canadian retail conglomerate Dylex Corporation, the parent company of BiWay, filed for bankruptcy protection in 1995. This meant the closure of all of its Western Canadian stores, including Winnipeg's eleven. The company continued on for a while under new ownership, but by 2001 the few remaining BiWay stores around Toronto also closed.

Biway took up a large section of the main floor of the building, but shared it with Manitoba Justice's Youth Correctional Services offices.

The Horseshoe in 1999 (2 Ply Collective on YouTube)

The Horseshoe Cabaret opened in the BiWay space on May 22, 1997. It boasted a 41.5-metre-long bar and $50,000 worth of cedar on the walls. The live music venue was country-themed, but it also hosted rock, hip hop, and funk acts. Even Randy Bachman played there! It was also known for hosting raves.

The last mention of it in "at the clubs" newspaper listings was the end of December 1999. The last mention of it hosting a show was the "Groove Community Festival of Funk" on June 9, 2000. 

Here's a video of an on-stage performance that pans the room to give a sense of its interior.

The old Herzig Building was now nearly 75-years old, vacant, and in poor condition. 

CentreVenture, the arm's-length civic property development agency, began courting the North West Company in 2001 to open one of its Giant Tiger stores in the downtown. (Like BiWay, Giant Tiger was a long-time Ontario retailer ready to launch into Western Canada.)

On top of the cost of purchasing the store, the NorthWest Company estimated that it would take another $750,000 to gut and renovate the building, including replacing the roof and facade. The city agreed in 2002 to help out with a modest $32,000 Strategic Economic Incentive Grant to be paid out over five years.

The Free Press did not cover the grand opening, nor did Giant Tiger take out any ads, but the store opened in late 2002 or early 2003. 

In July 2026, it was announced that the store will close on November 7, 2026. It provided no reason, just to say that the decision to close a store is "never made lightly". (Unlike the closure of its store in The Pas on July 31, 2026, there was no press release issued.)

What's next for the former Herzig Building? Given its eclectic history, it could be anything, really!

115 Garry Street - HBC Garage / The Keg Restaurant

 © 2026, Christian Cassidy

Place: HBC Garage / The Keg Restaurant 
Address: 115 Garry Street (Map)
Built: 1911
Architects: Woodman & Carey (John Woodman and Raymond Carey)

This building was constructed in 1911 as part of the ever-growing footprint of the HBC's first department store at Main Street and York Avenue.

The store was constructed in 1881 and expanded to the west a couple of times. In the early 1900s, several modern outbuildings were added to the streets around it, such as a stable/livery, a power plant, and this garage for its fledgling fleet of motorised vehicles.

The garage was designed by architects Woodman and Carey of Winnipeg. That same year, they designed a $200,000 CPR laundry building near the CPR Depot (now demolished), the Free Press Building on Carlton Street, and the HBC Wholesale  Warehouse on Main Street (now Gibraltar House.)

September 5, 1931, Winnipeg Tribune

When the Bay's new department store opened on Portage Avenue in 1926, its collection of buildings around Main and York fell out of use. The last year this building is listed in street directories as the HBC garage was 1930.

The building continued to serve the motor vehicles industry for several companies. The first was Watson Motors from 1931 to 1932, McRae and Griffith Ltd. garage from 1940 to 1944, then Red Wing Cartage and Storage from 1944 to 1964. It then sat vacant for several years.

A very different enterprise came along in 1975.

The Keg 'N Cleaver restaurant chain began in Vancouver in 1971, and by 1975 it had 16 restaurants operating in Canada and six under development in the U.S..

It applied for a liquor permit for 115 Garry Street, at what would be its seventh location, in  February 1975, and held its grand opening in June. By 1984, all of its restaurants had rebranded to simply "The Keg".

In 1989, the restaurant closed temporarily for a $1.6 million renovation that saw a new entrance and patio added to the south side of the building and the original Garry Street entrance was closed.

Rendering of DSM (Carrington Real Estate - DSM)

In 2022, construction began on a new mixed-use development at Donald Street and St. Mary Avenue that was to contain The Keg as a retail anchor. The developers ran into financial trouble, and construction came to a halt.

The project was revived by Carrington Real Estate in 2024, and the project was rebranded DSM (short for Donald St. Mary). The 14-storey building will contain two floors of retail, including The Keg, and 160 rental units on the upper floors.

In a 2025 Free Press story about the 50th anniversary of The Keg in Winnipeg, Scott Stephen, the director of operations for Winnipeg's restaurants, confirmed that “For now, the plan is to continue to operate out of our Garry Street location right up to the time we move over in summer or fall of 2026.” 

The Keg closed its 115 Garry Street location on July 29, 2026.

HBC Delivery Truck, ca. 1920 (eBay)

Related:
115 Garry Street Historic Buildings Report City of Winnipeg
115 Garry Street Manitoba Historical Society
115 Garry Street Winnipeg Architecture Foundation