Bulldogs bar and grill will be closed for May, and will reopen with a slick new look next month.
Major renovations at the Second Avenue bar are currently underway, and when the venue reopens on June 1, it will be back to its old name, the Northern.
“It’s down to the bones in here right now,” said Todd Shipley, owner of Picnic restaurant in Fernie and new owner of the Northern in Fernie.
Shipley, who was the owner of Original Joes in Calgary, bought Bulldogs on March 1.
“I don’t know why I decided to buy it. I had some time,” he said. “I really wanted a nice place to go and drink some beers, eat some good food and watch a hockey game.”
Even though the name of the pub was Bulldogs, Shipley said locals never stopped calling it the Northern.
“It’s what the hotel was called,” said Shipley. “And it’s what everyone calls it anyways.”
Shipley said that some of the plans for the Northern include a bar in the back of the pub. They are also tearing out all the carpet and putting in hardwood, and there will be a new menu.
“Bulldogs was very busy after 10 p.m.,” he said. “I want to have people come in for happy hour, and then have our supper rush, and then have all the people who normally come in after 10.”
Shipley said that he also wants to make the Northern more female-friendly.
“I want groups of women to come in and have more than one bottle of wine to choose from,” he said. “Everyone should feel comfortable, and if you bring the women, the men will follow.”
Shipley said that when the doors open on June 1, people can expect a clean environment with good food where they can come watch a hockey game in high definition, or play duck hunt in the games room.