When it comes to breathing new life into historical buildings, Alberta is leading the way. Calgary and Edmonton have opened food and beverage options in disused locations from the past, with more to come.
Located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, True Wild Distillery is a lesson in sustainability, turning an original 1911 power station building – the first in Calgary- into a restaurant and distillery. The building has always been symbolic for the city, marking its expansion and modernisation.
Today it’s the largest craft distillery in Alberta with a focus on whisky, and still retains its original spiral staircase and houses the world’s first breaker box botanical infusion chamber.
In the central neighbourhood of Marda Loop Calgary, restaurant DOPO can be found in revitalised wartime houses. The eatery, whose name means ‘after’, takes visitors on a journey back in time to try authentic Migliarese family heritage Italian recipes. More restaurants which ‘upcycle’ old homes will be opening in the area in 2025.
Station Park, a shipping container district in Old Strathcona, Edmonton, has had a revamp. It’s now a lively retail, food and beverage and entertainment district, which uses repurposed shipping containers to transform a formerly dormant location into a unique and quirky destination for both visitors and locals.
