Arcade bar to open in former downtown Keg
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Smash burgers and Skee-Ball will replace steaks as the former downtown Keg transforms into an arcade bar.
Greta, a Canadian chain, aims to open this November.
“On a high level, I feel like Winnipeg is misunderstood by a lot of the national brands,” said Chris DeCock, president of Greta.
“I think it’s a sneaky good market that a lot of the national brands miss.”
Greta leadership had been scouting Winnipeg locations for a couple years, DeCock said, but they hadn’t found the right fit. The bars have opened in heritage buildings in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver; the spaces are often 100 years old.
Before The Keg Steakhouse and Bar occupied 115 Garry St., it was a Hudson’s Bay Company garage. It was built in 1911.
“Just a beautiful building,” DeCock said. “We love the brick and steel structure, or beam structure.”
Still, the inside requires extensive renovations, DeCock said. The Keg’s last day was July 29; construction will happen over the next couple months.
Once finished, Greta’s Winnipeg locale should be similar to Toronto’s. Greta advertises more than 50 arcade games — including air hockey and Mario Kart — and a swath of food and drinks.
The Winnipeg site will hold new-to-Greta arcade machines, including a competitive Slurpee-filling challenge.
“This game is ridiculously fun,” DeCock said, adding he questioned the concept before trying.
He plans to open Greta’s patio for Le Burger Week, running Sept. 1 through 7, ahead of the bar’s official opening.
The patio seats 100 people. Another 400 can fit inside, DeCock said.
“We were really pragmatic about what location we chose.”
The company has hired a handful of Winnipeg managers and a chef. Greta will likely hold a job fair in early October; DeCock expects the site will need roughly 100 staff.
Door hosts are among the job descriptions.
“We were really pragmatic about what location we chose,” DeCock said.
He’d looked elsewhere downtown but was worried about security. The Keg’s former location, near Broadway, was “close enough to action… but far enough away that that security issue became not as significant,” said DeCock, whose family is from Winnipeg.
Greta has a sister company — Hudsons Canada’s Pub — with sites in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Its leadership phoned the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ this spring to discuss the area, said Kate Fenske, the BIZ’s chief executive.
“It’s really clear they see a role and an opportunity to be part of the downtown community, to bring more activity,” she said.
Many places have been busy this summer, Fenske noted — The Forks, the Exchange District, patios and Hargrave St. Market. However, the core lacks “that densification” of a destination street, she said.
She’s hoping Greta will bolster activity near Broadway.
Fenske noted 115 Garry St. won’t remain a vacant ground-level business. The number of businesses leaving downtown didn’t exceed openings this spring, she added.
“Two things can be true at once… there is so much investment and so many great things happening with new businesses opening,” Fenske said.
“At the same time, we know what’s happening on our streets… is becoming more and more challenging. We’re seeing more folks struggling.”
Tavern United closed its Graham Avenue locale; Giant Tiger plans to shutter its Donald Street store in November.
Greta is opening ahead of construction ending at major downtown projects, such as the redevelopment of Portage Place, Fenske said, adding the core will look different in three years.
Greta’s arrival should bring “more energy downtown” and adds to tourists’ and residents’ Winnipeg experiences, said Amanda Macdonald, Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism’s chief operating officer.
The Keg is moving to the ground floor of DSM, an apartment block at 185 Donald St. Its management cited more space as the reason for the move.
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
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