The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The sudden closure of three prime Denare Beach businesses has residents in the northern village concerned. Within the last several months, Rocky View Ota, RavenÕs Roost Pub and the WeÕre CookinÕ restaurant have all closed their doors. ÒIÕm very sad to see those businesses close down because they were very much needed here,Ó said Shirley Evans, a village councillor. Evans said the businesses filled two important roles: servicing local residents and luring out-of-town visitors, including many snowmobilers. ÒWeÕre hoping that eventually these places will be active again and get back on stream,Ó she said. Rocky View Ota, overlooking Amisk Lake a short drive from Denare Beach, closed on October 14. Rod Gourlay, one of three partners in the lodge and restaurant, said the decision came down to dollars and cents. ÒWe made a gallant effort, but thereÕs just not enough population and traffic to sustain a business of that type in that location,Ó he said. Gourlay does not know what will become of the facility, which opened in the mid-1990s at a cost of over one million dollars. ÒItÕs shut down and it wonÕt be reopened in the foreseeable future,Ó he said. Gourlay feels itÕs unlikely Rocky View would ever carry on as it was given that it has now failed twice. It previously went into bankruptcy before his involvement. Representatives from the two other businesses could either not be reached for comment or chose not to comment at this time. A sign on the door at RavenÕs Roost Pub, dated September 4, announces that ÒThese premises are closed. Unauthorized entrance is prohibited.Ó Two doors down, WeÕre CookinÕ is just as empty, an untrampled snow bank stretching from the entrance across the parking lot. It closed roughly around the same time as the other businesses. Deb Arseneault, owner of Alpine Convenience Store, one of the few businesses left in Denare Beach, said the closures are unfortunate but may be a sign of the times. ÒWeÕre becoming more and more of a bedroom community,Ó she said, adding that more people are spending their dollars in Flin Flon because thatÕs where they work. Denare Beach faces the challenge of a short tourist season and a lack of industry to employ residents within village limits, Arseneault said. She said the closures have already impacted her business, as snowmobilers from Rocky View would often gas up and patrons from RavenÕs Roost would buy cigarettes and other items. ÒItÕs had a ripple effect across the entire community,Ó said the convenience store owner. But with more large, expensive homes being built in Denare Beach, Arseneault is hopeful the trend may start to reverse itself.
