'There's a little nerd in everybody': Fans of Vancouver geek bar buy up memorabilia
Fans of Vancouver’s beloved geek bar Storm Crow Alehouse are buying up thousands of dollars worth of memorabilia that’s currently decorating the walls.
At the start of the month, the owners announced they would be closing the doors of the Broadway restaurant for good. The location first opened in 2016.
Another location on Commercial Drive, which opened almost 10 years ago, closed back in April 2020.
General manager Taylor MacNeil said the latest closure was a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, staffing shortages, supply shortages and the road work on Broadway.
“The waves of the shutdown have really taken a toll on us,” she said. “(But) at the end of the day, the Broadway construction was the final nail for us.”
Since the announcement, thousands of dollars worth of memorabilia has gone up for auction online, at prices ranging from $50 all the way up to $25,000. Some items have already been purchased; others are yet to close.
“People have come here for so many years and fallen in love with the pieces, why not let them have a piece of it?” MacNeil said, adding some of the items were purchased, while others were made by the staff.
Among the most expensive pieces are replicas of Han Solo frozen in carbonite, the Rancor and the Millenium Falcon from Star Wars, and a Beholder from Dungeons and Dragons.
MacNeil said her favourite piece is the photograph of Frodo Baggins from Lord of the Rings, signed by Elijah Wood. The actor would visit the bar on nights when they were broadcasting Games of Thrones episodes.
“Elijah Wood used to sit here while he was doing (the Netflix series) Dirk Gently,” MacNeil said. “That’s the best piece, honestly.”
Shane Johnston and his son Addison from Chilliwack are among those who have bought pieces in the auction.
“We’ve been living in Vancouver for the last six months because my son has leukemia and he just went through a bone marrow transplant and that’s why we were down here all the time,” Shane Johnston told CTV News. “We decided to come back in one last time before it closed.”
Addison Johnston said he wanted to buy a short sword because he loves stories about King Arthur.
“It was one of the first things I saw that was on the auction (and) I honestly couldn’t believe it when I got the email that I won it,” Addison said, adding the restaurant was a place he liked coming during his treatment.
“It does definitely help me feel a bit more normal in this situation,” he said.
MacNeil said the bar wasn’t just for the self-described “nerds.”
“It’s about everybody, because there’s a little nerd in everybody,” she said. “You could come in here and feel safe, and it was just a little something for everyone.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.