A drive through Burnaby Heights the other day brought some good news.
A sign in the window of the Admiral Pub and Grill on Hastings Street near Gilmore Avenue says it’s reopening “soon.”
A pub has sat on that spot as the Admiral or other names since at least the 1960s, but has been closed due to impacts of COVID-19 for most of 2020.
I don’t know if it’s new owners taking over or not, but this is good news for a landmark business.
In a way, you could say I owe my life to the Admiral - it was the place where my dad met my mom in the early 1960s.
The Admiral, of course, hasn’t always been the Admiral. After a long run under that name, for a while it became the North Burnaby Inn, complete with daily exotic dance shows.
The NBI, for some, is (in)famous for once being raided by RCMP officers, who also raided former-B.C. premier Glen Clark’s home way back in 1999. This was all related to a notorious casino application that you can read about here.
Since then, it’s returned to its beloved Admiral name and my mom, now 81, still went there from time to time for a few pops with her friends.
She’s wishing that it reopens because it’s been such a constant part of the Heights neighbourhood for decades. My grandparents, who lived for so many years just down the block on Oxford Street, used to go there.
As far as I know, it’s Burnaby’s oldest pub and was filled with an old school vibe that so many corporate bars and pubs just can’t match.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
