Surly Bob's was a

sports bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

, Northwest Territories,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

owned by Bob Ross and Lyle Denny. It closed in October 2012. It served typical pub food and sponsored a

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, also named the Surly Bob's. The bar was located at 4910 50th Ave.

History

Precursors (1969 - 2003)

The establishment was founded in 1969, as The Hoist Room Pub and Grill. In the 1980s, it was known as Millie's Hoist Room. In the 1990s, it was known as The Bistro on Franklin's. In 2000, the restaurant became known as Jose Loco's, when it specialized in

Mexican cuisine Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and M ...

Surly Bob's (2003 - 2012)

In January 2003, Lyle Denny and Bob Ross acquired Jose Loco's and converted it into a sports bar. It had a full kitchen and Friday and Saturday nights were known as Lobster Night.

The Cellar (2013 - 2018)

On 8 August 2013, Kyle Thomas reviewed "The Cellar", stating that the food was "good, but generic". The Cellar offered a

veggie burger A veggie burger is a hamburger patty that does not contain meat. It may be made from ingredients like beans, especially soybeans and tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then p ...

along with a homemade vegan soup special which was different every day. The bar was closed on Sundays and Mondays. In 2018, the Cellar Bar and Grill, which was operated by General Manager Dale Bardeau, was set to have a change in ownership, as Bardeau planned to move to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

. In talks to take over the bar, one party sought to maintain the bar as-is, while the other would potentially close the bar for several weeks for a

rebranding Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, invest ...

. In 2018, the bar moved uptown.

As Savannah's Family Restaurant (2019 - )

On 18 March 2019, the bar reopened as "Savannah's Family Restaurant". It served East African and

Middle Eastern cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine or West Asian cuisine includes Arab, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Cypriot, Egyptian, Georgian, Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli, Kurdish, Lebanese, Palestinian and Turkish cuisines. Common ingredients include olives ...

, including

halal meat ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...

(goat, lamb, chicken, and fish),

injera Injera (, ; om, Biddeena; ) is a sour fermented pancake-like flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, traditionally made of teff flour. In Ethiopia, Eritrea, and some parts of Sudan, injera is the staple. Injera is central to the dining ...

, lentils, and a veggie burger. It was owned and operated by husband and wife Savannah Perna and Mohamed Mohamed. As of May 2019, the Fat Fox Café was considering a move there, having closed its doors on 50 Street on 19 May 2018, due to issues with its premises. However, as of October 2020, Savannah's Family Restaurant was still open, now serving hamburgers, wings, and East Indian cuisines, such as

samosa A samosa () or singara is a fried Indian pastry with a savory filling, including ingredients such as spiced potatoes, onions, and peas. It may take different forms, including triangular, cone, or half-moon shapes, depending on the region. Sa ...

s and

curry goat (''hseik-tha hnat'') hi, Bakri curry id, kari kambing ms, kari kambing , country = Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia , region = Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia) and the Caribbean (Tr ...

. According to Tripadvisor reviews, "the food is beautifully spiced, hot, and served quickly"; they serve "nice Somali flavors", and the restaurant boasts a "very friendly owner and staff" The restaurant was inspected on 29 October 2020. On 21 September 2020, the Yellowknife

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

announced that Savannah's Family Restaurant was nominated for the 2020 "Resilient New Business Award" by the public. Until 5 October 2020, members of the public could vote online to select who would receive the award.

References

{{reflist Restaurants in the Northwest Territories Buildings and structures in Yellowknife Defunct companies of the Northwest Territories