Two former Edmonton venues reopening a decade after closures

What’s old is new again. Over a decade after they closed their doors, the Pawn Shop is coming back to Edmonton.

It will be in a different location, but they’re not the only bit of Edmonton nightlife nostalgia making a comeback.

“I met a lot of people, and they say, ‘It was the best time during the pawn shop live days, it changed my life,’ and that made me click on like, ‘Let’s do it,'” said Jimmy Kwak, a co-owner of Pawn Shop.

It’ll be a blast from the past if you spent any time on Whyte Avenue in the mid-2000s. The Pawn Shop is where many local bands were able to hit the stage for the first time. Early next year, they’ll reopen their doors again, just slightly to the south, where Union Hall was on 99 Street.

Kwak owned the original Pawn Shop on Whyte Ave. for nine years before he says economic issues forced him to close the doors in 2015. He told CityNews that after mulling the idea for months, he and his partner decided to rebrand Union Hall to the Pawn Shop after hearing an outpouring of support from local Edmonton bands.

“There’s not that many spaces for local bands who can play. This is better sound, better stage, I want to to give them the chance to do better sound — a better culture. It’s like a platform, it’s open to everyone,” said Kwak.

But the Pawn Shop isn’t the only old spot getting a new home. Inside the Mercer Building in the centre of downtown, the Druid Irish Pub is opening up next week after leaving their original location on Jasper Avenue due to building issues nine years ago.

“It had a good name. It’s not like we shut the doors with it having a bad rap, or an unfortunate incident that shut us down. We went out on a high note, bringing back the Druid. It’s been hard, but it’s also been much easier than starting a brand from fresh,” said David Wilk, a co-owner of the Druid Irish Pub.

The nostalgic comebacks are landing well with music lovers, like Layne Mitchell from CityNews sister station Sonic 102.9, who frequently hosted Sonic’s band of the month at the Pawn Shop. Mitchell is excited to have a new space for new bands, while remembering nights past.

“The night we did a band of the month showcase for Christian Hansen and the autistics, we had just started playing ‘Cocaine Trade’ from ‘Power Leopard’ their album. And it took off, it caught on like no one would believe. I we would show up 10 minutes before we’re supposed to be on stage to introduce the band — and there’s a line up around the block — a line up around the block for a local band? I love this so much.”

Mitchell believes this is good news for the next generation of local bands.

Those running the revived pawn shop say the space will have capacity for up to 1,200 people. It can go lower, which he says could bring in a multitude of different artists to the city at different levels of fame. Something Bechard says Edmonton is lacking right now.

“There’s a lot of venues, some that are bigger than us, some that are smaller than us, but there’s not many that can do a full configuration backwards. There’s some 300 capacity rooms that aren’t as sustainable as this to operate all year round,” said Bechard.

The Pawn Shop is expected to open its doors on January 16.