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It lived up to its Swayze inspiration. In its short 12-year history, the Roadhouse became a regular character on the police scanner. Sadly, there were plenty of Calgary Herald crime stories that had their origins at the busy bar.

In fact, the police took the rare step to ask for a business licence review of the bar in 2010. With a track record like this, it’s not too surprising.

Drunks a blight on city centre

Friday, June 20, 2003

Brawling, shouting and urinating, a mob of more than 400 drunks clogged 9th Avenue S.W. last Saturday night, bringing a huge police response and infuriating downtown residents already annoyed at the local pub scene.

About 10 police units responded quickly while the young people milled around, fought, and used the walls of apartments and businesses as (to quote the French) pissoirs. …

The 400 young people were on a pub crawl organized by an outfit called Elite Event Planning, which sold the tickets and rented the buses. …



The (pub crawl) buses were supposed to arrive five minutes apart at a designated parking area, says Roadhouse owner (Chris) Dobson.

“But they came all at once, an hour later than scheduled, to the wrong place.”

The Roadhouse staff, to its credit, didn’t let the drunks in. …

24 Hours in the ER

Sunday, March 28, 2004

…2:46 a.m.

There are 14 people at the ER waiting to be seen by a doctor, including 11 patients already in beds. The longest wait is the elderly man complaining he can’t “poop.”

An assault victim attacked outside the Roadhouse bar downtown is wheeled in on a stretcher and placed in trauma bay one. He’s vomiting blood, has several loose teeth and may have a concussion. …