Ambassador Gary
Google
In Calgary for an insurance conference during Stampede week and decided to check out the 33 Acres location after having good experiences at their Vancouver brewery. Figured it would be a nice taste of home hospitality while dealing with all this Alberta business travel.
Perfect timing too - just got gifted a genuine cowboy hat from my client Jim (apparently you can't attend Stampede events without proper headwear), and when I arrived at 33 Acres, the place was packed with people in full western gear. Felt like I'd finally found my people! Cowboys, belt buckles, the whole authentic Calgary experience. This was going to be the perfect end to my first Stampede day.
Walked up to the bar wearing my new hat, ready to order their signature pale ale and maybe strike up some conversation about the rodeo events. That's when the bartender dropped the bomb: "Sorry sir, we're closed for a private Stampede function."Closed? But I'd specifically checked the Yellow Pages website before coming over, and it clearly showed they'd be open until 10 PM. Showed the bartender the printout from my research, but apparently their hours had changed for the private event and nobody bothered updating the online information.
Here I am, 69 years old, wearing a cowboy hat for the first time in my life, trying to embrace Calgary culture, and I get turned away at the door while watching everyone else enjoy what looked like an excellent party. The irony wasn't lost on me - excluded from a Stampede celebration at a Vancouver brewery.
The staff were polite about it, but there's something particularly deflating about being dressed up like a tourist and then getting treated like one. Would it have killed them to update their website hours or put a sign on the door?
Ended up at a sports bar down the street where nobody cared about my hat and the beer came from a tap that hadn't been cleaned since the Klein era. Sometimes trying to be authentic just makes you feel more out of place than ever.
Maybe I'll stick to the Vancouver location next time.