After nearly half a year on the shelf — a pair of architects are bringing new life to a 114-year-old building in Winnipeg’s West Broadway neighbourhood. “The opportunity to become good friends and neighbours with the people that we work with and live beside is just a dream for us,” said Peter Sampson, co-owner of Langside Grocery. Sampson and co-owner Liz Wreford said they are excited to start a new chapter to the building that was constructed in 1912. An old bell will soon greet new and returning customers to the bar, which first opened in 2017. The pair bought Langside Grocery when it went up for sale last summer. “Being former patrons of Langside Grocery who used to come down here after work and walk into this place and feel like we were in another city sometimes, it felt that transcendent,” Sampson said. With their background in architecture, the new owners have moved into the second and third floors of the space to oversee their firm Public City Architecture. They said the lead-up to opening this week has been a joy. “It feels like it’s bringing the past forward,” Sampson said. “It’s really nice to see a building like this get used the way it was meant to be used.” “It’s, I think, my favourite building in the whole city,” Wreford said. “When we saw that it was for sale, we jumped on it.” The building was originally home to Hill Brothers Grocery in 1912. The bar’s current name is inspired by the 1942 moniker Langside Grocery. Wreford said very little work was needed inside to keep its 1920s look. Aside from removing the taxidermy and touching up some paint, the owners took the opportunity to add some family heirlooms to keep that century old feel. “We’ve been able to bring the family back to the grocery store in some way,” Sampson said. “There’s pieces of Liz’s family and pieces of my family just kind of all over the grocery now. It’s kind of a nice little grocery store of curiosities.” “This building in particular feels like it’s one of the last kind of corner stores that has survived,” Wreford said. Eric Napier Strong, executive director of West Broadway BIZ, said it’s encouraging to see the new owners keep the look of these heritage buildings intact. Strong said there are several independent shops in the neighbourhood that keep West Broadway a unique space for people to live and work. “Many of the residents live in apartment buildings that are the same age or even older than Langside Grocery,” Strong said. “It’s very important I think and exciting to see that adaptive reuse.” As he tinkered with his great-grandfather’s clock from 1928, Sampson said their opening on Friday, Jan. 9, will turn the page on more than a century’s worth of history. “It’s really exciting to be a part of that story,” Sampson said.
