BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition October 2018

FOOD & DRINK
THE DARK MANOR INN
HAUNTED WHISKEY BAR SERVES UP SPOOKY COCKTAILS WITH A TWIST
JOEY LOPEZ
Rod Moore is getting ready to open the doors of his new haunt just in time for Halloween.
Walking through the large door and stepping into
the Dark Manor Inn is like travelling back in time.
The wallpaper is reminiscent of Crimson Peak or The
House on Haunted Hill with old portraits of people
long dead that look as if their souls occupy the
frames themselves, their eyes following your every
movement between bookshelves of ancient tomes, a
stair case that leads nowhere and a gilded throne that
once sat the late founders of the Dark Manor.
“There was a husband and wife in the late 1800s
who ran the Dark Manor Inn. The story is that she
might have poisoned him with his favourite whiskey
cocktail. Their pictures are over there on the wall,”
says Rod Moore, owner of the Dark Manor Inn,
pointing to the wall across from him. “That’s the
backstory and the whiskey cocktail will be served on
our menu, if you’re brave enough to drink it. I want
this to be a completely immersive experience for
people who come in here. It’s an escape and we want
them constantly looking around and seeing new,
scary things. There’s going to be something new in
here all the time.”
When you want to escape the mundane and
the mainstream, where do you want to go? Moore
wants the Dark Manor Inn to be the place you run
to when you want to experience something you
can’t find anywhere else. Each book on the shelf was
hand picked by Moore himself, each one older than
the last, trying to find the perfect piece to add to
the creepy atmosphere. The paintings on the walls
are of real people, some nearly 200 years old. The
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Photo by Jamila Pomeroy
real aspects of the Dark Manor Inn could make one
believe the hands that touched the spines of those
books so long-ago may be the very same hovering
over your shoulders, creating that chill running down
your spine as you sit inside this haunted bar.
“We want this to be super cool and immersive.
I even have hundreds of different pieces of music
for this place. We have the theme from the
haunted mansion ride. Now, you couldn’t listen to
Disney music all night or else people will be offing
themselves for real, but I found a whole genre of
haunted, spooky instrumentals. The theme from
Halloween will play alongside everything John
Carpenter ever wrote. Vincent Price doing his blurb
from ‘Thriller’ will be playing over tapa music. It’s
going to be awesome.”
Everything in the Dark Manor Inn lends itself to a
haunted history and the potential for a run-in with a
ghost or two. Be careful of what you touch, you don’t
know what kind of things you might bring home with
you.
As for those stairs that lead nowhere? “That’s
grandma’s attic. She might still be up there,” he says.”
Her picture is on the wall, staring up at the wife
probably wondering what the hell she’s doing
The Dark Manor Inn will be open in time for
Halloween. Grab yourself a dubious whiskey cocktail
and experience all the dark and terrific horrors it has
to offer.
The Dark Manor Inn is located at 4298 Fraser Street.
GOOD COMPANY LAGER
PUTTING CANS IN HANDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
CARLOS OEN
Imagine that after playing for two years on
Vancouver’s best stages you’ve just been signed
by a major record company with plans to take
you touring across Canada. Now trade your
axe for a keg of cold beer and your tom-toms
for tasty six-pack of crafted lager, for you are in
Good Company now.
It all started at the Cobalt, one of
Vancouver´s favourite bars (currently
under undergoing upgrades). From years of
experience behind the bar, entrepreneurial
Patryk Drozd realized live music lovers and bar
patrons alike wanted an affordable beer. Two
years ago, all customers could get in the $4.50
range was a boring, generic and industrial can.
Drozd and his partner Michael Kiraly, a
biology professor at Capilano University,
decided to do something about it. Good
Company Lager was born with a specific
mission — Putting cans in hands.
“What we wanted to do is create a local craft
value brand that we could introduce to the
market and support the local community,” said
Drozd. “We wanted a brand that was reflective
of what we represent in the community.
What that wanted to be is a local-draft-beer
alternative to what doesn´t exist in Canada.”
Vancouverites are known for supporting
local brands, and this one started by
supporting local music bands and artists. A
virtuous cycle was formed and Good Company
Lager became a success.
Little did Drozd and Kiraly knew they were
being watched by one of North America´s
most important wine and spirits distributor –
Southern Glazer´s Wine & Spirits.
A year-and-a-half after the kickoff, the
distributors of brands such as Grey Goose,
Bacardi, Bombay Sapphire and Patron
contacted Drozd. They wanted a beer in their
Canadian portfolio. The conversations resulted
in a signed deal to distribute Vancouver´s
Good Company Lager across Canada. These
local guys went national.
“Suddenly this fun little project turned into
something really serious,” said Drozd. “We were
just a little company with two guys and a truck.
Just slinging beer. All of a sudden we are getting
to that level now. It’s pretty interesting.”
The first stage is to distribute Good
Company Lager in B.C. and Alberta. It’s all part
of a three year project to take it across Canada.
Drozd is calm and keeps his feet on the ground,
telling himself he will believe it when he sees it.
Hard work and vision have helped Drozd
to co-own the Cobalt, the Boxcar and the
American. These are Main Street´s Holy Trinity
of bars. He sees much of his success coming
from supporting the community. When
Good Company Lager came out, many of the
communities that Drozd has helped turned
around and gave their support.
“People are excited about Vancouver. People
are very excited about things from Vancouver.
And people want to support people that
do things in Vancouver. There is a growing
support network for local stuff. For a long
time Vancouver never had that,” said Drozd.
It is time to raise the pint high, wishing
success to this fermented, yeasty, and local
band. Cheers!
Photo by Brendan Meadows
Michael Kiraly and Patrick Drozd are taking their Good Company brand across the country.
October 2018