REGINA -- The owners of the Jolly Roger Beer Store & Tavern are looking to sell the business, after first purchasing it in 1980.
“I want to try something different. We’ve been here 40 years, and it’s just time,” owner Kevin Citynski said.
The Jolly Roger has a listed sale price of $2.85 million.
However Citynski said he’s only going to sell it to the right person.
“We want to make sure that the legacy of the Jolly Roger continues,” Citynski said.
He said the bar’s name comes from the flag flown to identify a pirate ship about to attack.
The bar is designed to be like the hull of a ship, with cannons along the walls. Private dining is known as the captain’s quarters and a mural allows customers in one booth to pretend they’re looking out on the ocean.
With where the bar is located in the city, Citynski said it often acts as a neighbourhood watch or a place for people to go if they feel unsafe.
“People know they can come here and they’ve got a safe place to come and hangout until it’s safe to go home again,” Citynski said.
Since the start of the pandemic, the bar has only been open for three weeks total and has been closed since the second wave of cases began. Citynski said customers have been very understanding with COVID-19 protocols and the adjustments the bar has needed to make
“I’d like to see it kept as a liquor store, I mean everybody in the neighbourhood appreciates it,” salesperson Janice Cook said.
Citynski said the Jolly Roger has had customers from other provinces stop in after hearing it referenced in the Arrogant Worms’ song the “Last Saskatchewan Pirate.”
“They stopped here specifically, because of the Jolly Roger song. It’s not just Saskatchewan, we’re known nationwide,” Citynski said.
Citynski said he’s not in a big rush to sell the location, but believes the right person will come along and hopefully inject some youth and energy into the building.
