Gordie Kirkpatrick had mixed feelings the first time he saw the inside of the former Myron’s nightclub after it had been closed for more than a decade.
"It brought back a lot of good memories," he said. "But then to see, on the other hand, how it was deteriorating, I think if we hadn't caught it when we did, it wouldn't have been too much longer before it would have had to be torn down."
Kirkpatrick was the night bar manager in the 1990s, but more recently he was the project manager for the extensive renovations to turn the popular nightclub at 155 Kent St. in downtown Charlottetown into the 83-room Arts Hotel, which opened on Aug. 14.
Deal finalized in 2018
The Myron’s nightclub officially closed its doors in 2006. It remained vacant until Richard Homburg, CEO and chairman of Homburg Atlantic Inc. (and CEO of Dyne Holdings Ltd. in Charlottetown), finalized a deal to acquire the building from Wendell MacEachern in 2018. At that time, the plan was to create 105 hotel rooms and add two floors to the building, but it was later decided not to add any additional floors and provide 83 rooms.
John Cudmore, president of Dyne Holdings, said during the school year, the hotel is hoping to attract students who don't want to commit to an apartment. During the summer months, the goal is to offer travellers an alternative to Airbnbs.
"We're hearing young people nowadays, they don't want to spend a fortune on a hotel room. They have money, but they'd rather spend it on good wine, good food, experiential things to do when they're in town and just crash somewhere. We're hoping they'll crash with us," he said.
Cudmore jokes that the plan was for a "no-star" hotel, but, in fact, it was evaluated and given a three-star rating. The hotel has a self-check-in option. The rooms have large beds, internet and furniture that maximizes space but no phones or televisions. The washrooms and showers are also high-quality, he said. The price of a room is currently $99 a night.
Cudmore said the Salvador Dali Café located on the main floor is a part of the project that stands out for him. Homburg actually donated some of his Dali artwork collection to be put up on the walls in the hotel's main floor area.
"All the colours and everything else kind of flow into what he (Dali) did as a person," Cudmore said.
Ready for customers
Opening a new hotel in the middle of COVID-19 may not be ideal, said Cudmore, but with the Atlantic bubble, he expects some customers this year.
"We will have to work a lot with social media to tell people about the new product. People look at us like we're kind of strange, opening a property in the middle of what's going on around us. But you know, we have confidence in our product, and it gives us a good opportunity to work any kinks out of it and get ready for hopefully next tourist season when we can hopefully get some rebound from the tourism industry," he said.
When renovations began two years ago, the original main floor bar and dance floor were still in place. Those have since been removed, but Kirkpatrick was able to salvage the nightclub’s large, heavy duty safe. The safe is on display in the lounge area with seating and a couple of televisions.
Kirkpatrick said millions of dollars would have been locked up in that safe over the years.
"Myron’s was the main place to go in the city and in the province for a long time, and we got a lot of people from out of province. Pretty big dollar amounts went through at that time, and it was mostly cash, so a safe like this was required," he said.
"It was a great experience, an interesting experience for sure – just the sheer number of people we would have come through on a Saturday night is kind of mindboggling now, when you think of it."
Trailside’s new home
Also on the main floor is the Trailside Music Hall. In 2019, owners Pat and Meghann Deighan announced they were relocating the business from Mount Stewart to Charlottetown after eight years. While waiting for renovations at the Arts Hotel to be completed, they were having live shows at the Grand Holman Hotel.
But now, the business is ready for its grand opening on Tuesday. With social distancing, they can seat about 75 people.
"We're really excited to move into our permanent spot and just settle in and make this our new home," said Meghann Deighan.
The inaugural act at Trailside is the Amanda Jackson Band (Amanda Jackson, Dale McKie and Todd MacLean) with sold-out shows on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
For MacLean, Tuesday's performance will be a bit of a homecoming. In the late 1990s to mid-2000s, MacLean was a member of the Rude Mechanicals (along with lead singer Dennis Ellsworth). The band played at Myron’s a lot, first in 1998 on the upstairs stage and then with their CD launch on the cabaret stage in 1999.
"I just remember some really crazy nights there, just with the dance floor being packed. Yeah, the party was just hopping," he said. "It was exciting to play there."
MacLean, who grew up in Meadow Bank, expects to have some feeling of nostalgia when he walks into the renovated building and back up on stage.
One memory that stands out was the Rude Mechanicals playing at Myron’s on New Year's Eve in 2004. It would be the band's last performance. A week later, the band broke up.
On Friday, MacLean said he hasn't been inside the renovated building yet, but he has seen some photos.
"It's quite a transformation compared to what it was," he said with a laugh.
MacLean also said it was sad to see the building sit vacant and unused for so long, and it’s exciting that the building is back up and running with live music again.
"I'm just really pumped that this building is being brought back to life, and it's such a supreme honour to be the first musicians to be performing on that stage."
