Rising from the ashes… a pop-up bar

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This article was published 06/07/2021 (1547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In February 2018, fire razed the No Name Auto Mart on Portage Avenue, leaving an empty lot where its selection of used vehicles was once parked.

And where many saw an eyesore in an otherwise prime piece of high-traffic real estate, Kristjan Harris saw opportunity.

Since buying a house on nearby Arlington Street in 2016, the 47-year-old Harris had his eye on the space, seeing the potential for something more for the surface lot. That potential came to fruition on Canada Day, when he and his team opened the doors of the Garden 955 to the public for the first time.

The Garden 955 joins the likes of Cargo Bar at Assiniboine Park, the Beer Can at the Granite, Blue Note Park on Main Street and Bijou Patio in the Exchange District — new outdoor gathering spots for lockdown-weary Winnipeggers to grab a beverage and some food outdoors. The 10,000-square-foot space features local craft beer and cider, wine and non-alcoholic options, as well as edible options from the Bao House food truck (with likely collaborations), live entertainment on weekends and more.

Originally from Winnipeg, Harris spent time living in Vancouver, Toronto, Belize and beyond before returning to Winnipeg nearly five years ago.

While living in Toronto in 2008, Harris shifted his focus from working in the film industry to running Saving Gigi, a café and restaurant.

“We had tripled the sales within the first year, and then every year we did a 25 per cent increase,” says Harris, who then turned his attention to starting the Bloor Ossington Folk Festival in Toronto’s Christie Pits area.

With a young child and the skyrocketing cost of living in Toronto, Harris and family moved back to Winnipeg in late 2016, returning to the film industry while also working at his family’s construction/design business, Harris Buildings. The vacant lot and the adjacent building at 955 Portage Ave. — once La Bodega Imports before becoming a constituency office for former MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette — was still on his mind. “I remember walking past this place, and talking about how I wanted to do something here,” he recalls. “Imagine if I took that used car dealership and turned it into a bar, and this was the front patio?”

When the pandemic took hold in early 2020 and Harris saw the success of spots such as The Beer Can, he knew his idea for an outdoor beverage garden and gathering place would work here. After contacting the Vancouver-based owners of the Portage Avenue block, pitching his idea and developing a proposal and business plans, things started to fall into place.

“We came here on Jan. 3 (2021); there was snow everywhere,” Harris recalls of touring the space with the owners of the space. “We went inside the building and looked around. I said ‘we’re going to put the bar back here, knock the window out to keep the front area for our offices, and transform the outdoor space into beautiful gardens.’” After contacting the city and the Liquor, Gaming & Cannabis Authority of Manitoba for guidance, the project was a go — although not without its setbacks (including restrictions on gatherings), which meant The Garden 955 opened on July 1 rather than the Victoria Day weekend.

Harris spent the first three months of 2021 building the wooden fences, tables and benches that now adorn the outdoor space — elements made primarily from repurposed wood, some of which Harris was able to source from pallets left over from projects undertaken by the family construction business. The only other major piece of construction was cutting a hole in the wall where the walk-up bar now stands near the back of the building. The building got a fresh coat of paint and a few fun details (such as a half tennis court and misting/cool-down area) were added, and things were ready to go. The outdoor space has a capacity for 400 people, although current restrictions caps the head count at 200.

Unlike the other similar spaces in the city, The Garden 955 is just metres away from the nearest residential buildings on Lipton and Banning streets. “I want to be very respectful — I have my neighbours’ best intentions, first and foremost, in mind,” Harris says. As such, The Garden 955 will be open Monday through Thursday from 3-10 p.m., regardless of whether there are pandemic-related restrictions in place, and on those days won’t feature live music. Hours on Fridays are currently also 3-10 p.m, and Saturdays and Sundays noon-10 p.m., although those could be tweaked as restrictions change. Current orders from the province mean last call is at 9:30 p.m., and folks have to be out of the space by 10.

Like most of the other similar outdoor spaces, The Garden 955 is family- and pet-friendly, and Harris hopes to develop family programming on Sundays in the future. “I have a seven-year-old,” says Harris. “I really want to create a place where families can feel comfortable… I’d love to have families coming in and having some brunch and beverages, and bringing their kids.”

And while Harris is thrilled with the initial response to the space, as an ideas guy he’s already thinking ahead — especially since it’s not a sure thing The Garden 955 will return next year. (The property owner is looking at a number of options for the entire block.) “For me, the enjoyment comes from the moment I start writing the concept down, and then the building and creating it… and then opening doors and it’s exactly what I hoped it would look like, almost to a tee.”

ben.sigurdson@freepress.mb.ca