We’re along busy MacLeod Trail and looking at what was once the city’s most happening cowboy bar. It got good ‘n’ rowdy here and each year during Stampede came ten days of utter drunken madness. They did a killer business, but the decades long party ended in early 2020 – another pandemic casualty I guess. This is Ranchman’s Cookhouse & Dancehall and we’ll circle the property and give you a little look at it in a vacant state. How strange to see it quiet and devoid of life.
The iconic Ranchman’s and that’s after forty plus years, is no more. It was legendary and seemingly they had a licence to print money. Who’d have thought this business, one so on point and successful, would come to an end. How unthinkable…and in other news Hell just froze over. The last couple years sure have been weird and a real game-changer.
Ranchman’s Cookhouse & Dancehall: welcome to cowboy central. Slammin’ back a Bud with Chris Doering & Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd)
Shout out to “JLaF” for sponsoring this and many other articles at BIGDoer.com in early 2022. Do the same…
The Ranchmans’s goes all the way back to 1972. Prior to that, the property was open field, although for a year or two before the s***kicker Mafia descended, a small structure of some sort occupied the land. At the time this was out in the boonies and reminds us how much Calgary has grown since that time. The place is mid-city now!
Seen by so many passing motorists.
Built in a rustic style, the building when new was about half the footprint you see present day. The section fronting the road is the original structure and the addition out back came sometime before 1979. That they expanded quickly comes as no surprise, but this is Cowtown where western culture is king.
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For a certain ten days in summer things got real wild. Line up early or be denied. Come away broke. Loose a partner or gain one. Loose control, pick a fight, get noisy and dance (and later stagger) the night away. And you’ve only just started! Look up high to the Corona beacon and hear its call. Can we get a “Yeeeee-Haw!”
Each night of the Stampede they’d run as maximum capacity, right up till last call and then the next day, it’d happen all over again. The CPS knew this place well and a line of taxis would congregate each night about closing time to haul away the inebriated. You didn’t leave until they kicked you out and even then you protested loudly.
The Ranchman’s Cookhouse et al. is a roadhouse in every sense with a large interior dancehall and stage prominent features. The outside bar was always a popular option when the weather was nice. Wave to everyone on MacLeod and show them the good times you’re having.
Reminiscing at the main entrance: through these doors pass the most beautiful girls in the world – didn’t they used to say that? Later that night: through these doors pass some of the most dishevelled and drunken girls in world. Don’t be alarmed if someone upchucks on exiting – just a warning.
Décor was full on western – you know, saddles, branding irons, booze memorabilia, and shrines to Garth Brooks. Line dancing your thing or maybe a little eight ball? How about the mechanical bull or that punching bag game? Buck Hunter too? You could find it here.
Music? We got both kinds…country and western! Dress right – here a denim jacket is business attire. Think belt buckles the size of dinner plates and so polished that if hit with a spot light could blind onlookers. Ultra-short skirts and cowboy boots are a thing.
The “cocktail” menu reads like this (pick by number): 1) Jug of Coors, 2) Jug of Bud, 3) Corona + Lime or 4) Shot of Jack. I doubt they had a wine list. Ask for a medium-dry Pino Grigio, with notes of stone fruit and see what happens…we dare you.
Hungry? Deep fried = yes! Slabs of beef, spicy appendages of chicken or menu selections with the word “jalapeno” in them = yes! Mile high nachos = yes and yes! Avocado and Kale pizza = probably not.
Out in the parking lot, it’d be F250s, Siverados, Longhorns and not a Prius to be seen. A PT Cruiser would be inviting shame and you need a suitably macho ride if you’re going clubbin’ here.
We’re at Ranchman’s Calgary.
Aa liquor and testosterone fuelled funhouse it was patronized, in varying ratios, by both real cowboys and those playing the part (usually more of the latter). The two factions didn’t always see eye to eye, and perhaps even loathed the other, but somehow coexisted. Mostly. Notwithstanding, bar brawls and drunken escapades were par for the course no matter who was involved. Things that flowed at the Ranchman’s: money, draught, blood and puke.
Then came Covid and the resultant lock downs and with that, and very early in, the business announced abruptly it was closing. No waiting it out for them and it was an unceremonious pulling of the plug. Where as a lot of bar and clubs kept the lights on, sometimes barely, by offering takeout during this trying pandemic, the Ranchman’s was not that kind of place. You didn’t go here for the food and instead it was all about the party. Without people to fill the seats, and perhaps knowing Covid would be in for the long haul (bingo), they got out quickly.
Nevertheless, the closing seemed abrupt and out of character. The Ranchman’s was a money machine, right? Why not try to weather the storm and cash in again later, given it’s a proven formula. There’s no doubt more to this story. The Ranchman’s changed hands not long ago and perhaps these new owners (since 2017) did not have the acumen, or war chest to continue. What happened next suggests there may have been a money problem. That place…a literal mint? I know!
Post closing the bank swooped in and auctioned off the assets and this usually only happens if business was on shaky ground and couldn’t square away with debtors. Historic saddles and memorabilia on display were returned to the folks that loaned it to the venue, but everything else of value that wasn’t nailed down was sold lock, stock and barrel.
Last summer a new owner acquired the property and headlines mentioned they were looking for a suitable tenant to perhaps resurrect the business. There’s huge value in that name. So far, though, there’s been no updates to this story, so it continues to be a wait and see. Will Ranchman’s 2.0 come to be or has the legacy ended?
However it plays out, remember it, always, as a cowboy central, a Calgary institution for close to half a century and root cause of many a hangover.
Just before leaving the cops showed and on seeing we were only photographing the building, soon left. They mentioned the building was sometimes a magnet for trouble with vandals, souvenir hunters and homeless taking up residence, among the problems they’ve had to deal with. They told us they’d get called out here often and knew the building well.
In business since the 1970s, it closed recently.
The officer went on to say someone had recently stolen the “Cool Runnings” bobsled that used to hang off the building. To get to it, the the thieves must have had a picker or something. It was up high and if real and not a movie prop, couldn’t have been light.
Since our visit, a fence has gone up around part of the building and more cameras added.
Goodnight Ranchman’s. We’ve been inside once, long ago, with friends, just to say we did it. It was a romanticized cowboy watering hole, that for close to half a century touched a cord with patrons. There’s other bars like it, but none so legendary and now it’s done. Please remove your Stetson, bow your head and give a moment of silence…
Update Everyone knew it’d reopen – it was just to good to let go – and sure enough that happened in spring 2022. The taps are back on, the deep fryer fired up and the dance floor given a new coat of shellac. Business as usual at the Ranchman’s Cookhouse and Dance Hall!
(A long read) After twelve years it's time to put a face to the name and come clean on something. That's rarely-seen Chris in the photo, one half of Team BIGDoer, my best friend for almost thirty years and orchestrator of everything you see here. For his entire adult life, he's battled a deep depression.
Mostly it's manageable, but there are extended bouts where it's crippling and his life comes to a grinding halt. Sometimes there are days or weeks where he's lost. Sleep does not come easy at this time and further aggravates the issue. As he ages, it's worsening and seems intent on destroying him from the inside.
If you see a lack of posts here, or ones poorly worded, confusing or simply off, it's from one of these periods.
Through all this, he remains as kind, thoughtful and loving as ever, but is somewhere else. To the family, it's just Chris and accepted as it should be. The kids and grandkids adore him no less. Until today, however, this has been hidden from the outside world, although closer friends and some readers were probably already suspect of his condition. I hope admitting this does not break the site.
He finds clarity when we're out and doing things, hiking or documenting something historic and it's only THE reason this page and our website exists. It's therapy. Then he's a new and passionate person, but the monster as he calls it always returns. The Beer Parlour Project has brought out a side I've never seen and when out in the field he's never been so on point and confident.
This post is not for sympathy but to inform. Just so you know where he is and here's what you can do to help (a last ditch request)...
If you see a missed comma or oddly worded sentence in a post, please be kind. You'll probably see his uncertainty when he's off and be nice there too. But if you like what you see, even if the write up could be presented better, post your encouragement. Say something and say it loud...it's important and will keep him sharing. Help Chris get better by cheering him on.
Other than some photos that are mine, everything else comes from him. All the tiring research and the writing (he admits he's NOT a writer), are his.
Chris puts every dollar he makes into this "project of a lifetime", and it's supplemented by donations from readers who enjoy the content. If you want to help...
Admittedly he was not thrilled with the idea of posting this but agrees it probably should be said, even if it makes him uneasy. He doesn't like appearing in photos either. He's so shy, thinks he looks goofy and hates his husky eyes. I love them and they're windows into a wonderful, complex and quiet, but tortured soul. It breaks my heart when he's in a bad space.
This image comes thanks to photographer Arturo Pianzola and was captured while exploring the historic Riverview Mental Hospital in Coquitlam BC. Chris thought since he was in the area last year, he'd stop by to visit with a grandfather he never really knew, who spent his last years at the facility and is buried on the grounds.
Thanks for listening and your understanding. Hopefully we'll see you next week. Johanna (Connie).
Journey of Natty Gann (Disney 1985) and the same location in the Crowsnest Pass 2014. We're visiting the Pass over the new year, as we often do, and this time we'll be staying at a house that appears (briefly) in the film. How cool, eh? Chris has decided it's time on this visit to reshoot this and other Natty Gann comparison shots we did from ten years ago. Stay tuned!
This scene was shot in historic downtown Coleman and shows the former Holyk's Grocery. It was built in the early 1900s and the store closed in the '60s. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
From 2015. Rob Pohl and his strange old-style view camera joined us in documenting the Laing House (with permission). Head down to the comments to see an amazing coincidence with something I found inside.
From the Crossley slides, it's an undated view of Towers School, out near Cluny Alberta. It was originally called Swastika School but that's before the word and symbol were ruined by negative connotations. Built 1922. Gone? _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
The same alley in downtown Calgary's west end, in the 1970s & today. You have to look hard to see the connection! The area was quite run down back then and is in stark contrast to all the shiny condo towers seen present day. Calgary Place West, an apartment block, appears in both images although it's barely a sliver in ours. Check the comments for more info.
Photo credit: James Tworow collection. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
Lost highways (2022): a section of old #93 in Southeastern BC. That BIGDoer-mobile is gone now but quite famous and had a following of its own. Old mine roads, cow paths, 4x4ing across fields - no problem and people would recognize us out in remote areas just by this car. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
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