Article content

The fate of the Canadian Club Brand Centre remains in limbo, though Mayor Drew Dilkens feels hopeful after meeting with company executives in Chicago on Monday that keeping the historic building open to the public is at least still a possibility.

“I was pleased with the outcome of the meeting,” Dilkens said by phone. “It was a very fruitful discussion. The door was not closed.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or No change on Canadian Club centre but Dilkens pleased with Chicago meeting Back to video

Beam Suntory, the company that owns Canadian Club, announced last week that it intends to close the brand centre for tours March 31, and for booked events Dec. 31.

Dilkens said that closing the Canadian Club Brand Centre would hurt the community, since Hiram Walker’s ornate former office building, built between 1892 and 1894 in a late Italian Renaissance style, exudes so much history.

“We’re working through some of the high-level issues that exist,” Dilkens said. “But my goal is to try to find a solution to make sure that portion of our history and that story and that brand can still exist in the City of Windsor.”