LAC LA BICHE - One of Lac La Biche’s trademark historic watering holes re-opened last week.
Truckers Saloon, along with portions of the La Biche Inn, opened its door to customers last week, years after the long-serving business shut down.
The Inn, located in downtown Lac La Biche first opened in the 1950s as the York Hotel. In the late 1970s, the business was purchased from Vic Laventure by Duane Young, who would later become mayor of Lac La Biche. Young purchased and renovated the property, which for decades included not only the bar, but also a restaurant, dining room, lounge, conference rooms and hotel rooms.
Young, who passed away in Jan. 2016, sold the business the year before. After the sale, the building’s ownership changed hands twice and housed two new restaurant ventures before closing its doors in 2018. The 40,000 square foot building was put onto real estate listings with a price tag of $2.5 million. The building wasn’t sold and was shuttered. It was placed into bank receivership in October of 2020.
Kevin Halter, the man behind the latest revival of the business, is a mechanic by trade and an avid golfer who joked that part of the reason he wanted to re-open the space was to find a home for an indoor golf simulator he had.
But the real reason for re-opening The Inn, he said, is because it has been such an iconic part of the community.
“It was a town location for everybody…it was the only biggest building at the time for people to go in and be out of the cold and talk…and Duane was a really respectable guy…he really didn’t turn down too many people,” he said.
While much of the interior of the long-running establishment remained intact — including the big 18-wheeler mounted on the wall that symbolizes Truckers — some upgrades and renovations needed to be done to get the building back to code.
Halter stated that Lac La Biche County officials, including Fire Rescue Services — have been very accommodating to him and his management team as they went through the process of reopening and making sure everything was to code.
“If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be open,” he said.
Along with the bar, hotel and restaurant, Halter also has plans to open the former Northern Lights dining room and Drifter’s Lounge at the back of the building, as a lounge and steakhouse.
Moving forward, Halter plans to carry out his business enterprise using modern technology, but with the style of Duane Young.
“He made quite an impact, and I hope I can use him as a mentor and keep it going,” he stated.
