The Alder Inn, in operation since 1957, has reportedly been purchased

The one-acre property at 27214 Fraser Hwy. is in the process of being bought, which resulted in the shutdown of the Alder Inn’s show lounge this past weekend. (Sarah Grochowski photo)

The only strip bar remaining in Langley – at the Alder Inn – has shut its doors.

Since 1948, the hotel, liquor store, bar, and show lounge, advertised as a “Western-style saloon,” operated on the corner of Fraser Highway and 272nd Street in downtown Aldergrove.

As early as Saturday, a visit to the Alder Inn revealed its bar and show lounge were closed.

Owner Gary Sangha, who’s “been operating in the community for 29 years now,” said the building is in the process of being sold. He clarified, however, that he’s keeping his liquor licence and continuing to operate the liquor store on the site for the “foreseeable” future.

Since the Aldergrove Star first published this story Monday online, it has sparked considerable mixed reactions.

While some are sad to see the “landmark” go, others in the community are saying the closure of the show lounge is good news.

One Aldergrove mother was “very happy” to find out about the closure.

“It has kept the community in the gutter,” she said about the bar. “I can’t wait until the area gets a facelift” to make more room for family-friendly spaces in the town, which she said “is growing due to emerging young families.”

She’s not alone. A neighbouring shop owner has had concerns about the show lounge for years.

“No mother looks down at their infant daughter and says ‘I hope you’ll make a great pole dancer one day’,” she shared, after hearing of the shutdown. “As mothers, we want more than this for our daughters.”

“It’s been very much a concern of the community, that establishment,”added Langley RCMP Cpl. Kurt Neuman, Aldergrove’s community police liaison.

The bar has “outlived its purpose within the community,” Neuman asserted.