The Grand Hotel is located on the corner of 50th Avenue (Highway 20A/53) and 51st Street in Rimbey Alberta. The town was founded about 1900 as Kansas Ridge and named after settlers that came from that state. It was changed shortly afterwards in honour of some prominent local citizens, the Rimbey Brothers.

“So it (the hotel) hasn’t changed a bit…I mean the carpet’s still the same and everything.” – Jay.

Today the welcome sign at the edge of town announces the centennial was celebrated in 2002.

The Railway came through around 1920. Historical accounts are a bit at odds and mention varying years on either side but this may represent when construction commenced or when the trains actually started running. The tracks skirt the edge of town and unlike many small prairie towns, the railway had little influence on the layout of the community.

Originally the Lacombe & Northwestern Railway (earlier the Lacombe & Blindman Valley Electric Railway), it became Canadian Pacific property after 1928. The trains still run but not that often and the main customer is the Homeglen gas plant nearby. It is a significant local employer.

“Did that (housekeeping) for a couple of years and then I moved over to bartending down here….so 20 years later, and here we are.” – Jay (on working here for over two decades).

Just days before this post was published, it was announced a new shortline would be take over operations of this branch.

Rimbey did not grow significantly until the trains arrived and shortly after this event, it officially became a village. Unlike many rural communities the population has not shrunk, but instead grown over time. The present population is around 2500 and that is in comparison to only about 350 residents a century ago.

The Grand Hotel opened in 1947 but as the Ben Franklin. This was not to honour the famous American historical figure, but the name of a founding partner of the business. In 1948 Rimbey achieved town status.

The hotel was almost lost to fire soon after being constructed and a group of volunteer townspeople manned a bucket brigade to put the flames out. Water was collected from all over town and when it ran out, they had to rely on pulling water from a waste holding tank, or so the story goes. Yuck! The fire was a catalyst for the town putting in hydrants and organizing a proper fire department.

A few short years after opening the hotel changed names and became the Grand – sometimes listed as the Rimbey Grand in old advertisements.

“No, they are not rented anymore. They haven’t been since COVID.” – Jay (when asked about the rooms upstairs).

There was also a Cottage Hotel in town for a time. It operated briefly as the Jamaica or Jamaica House Hotel early on and dates to 1907. It was the town’s first hotel and located about a half block west of the Grand. In 1950s ads at least, it is listed at the Taylor Hotel and that is the last name of the fellow who owned it at the time. It closed in 1962.

There was Windsor Hotel in town once, exact location undetermined, and it was in business from 1915 until 1936, when it burned down. That is an all too common occurrence in the small town hotel business.

Not that long ago the Grand was a hotbed for the local music scene and signed ceiling tiles all over the tavern are testament to this. They show the bands which played at the hotel and there is the likes of Trooper, Harlequin, April Wine, Prism and others. The bar circuit kept many Canadian bands from the 1970s-1980s busy well into today.

Other tiles up there advertise local businesses or contain personal messages. Any that are dated, are from long ago.

There is a breakfast eatery attached to the hotel and at one time in the not too distant past a fine dining restaurant operated here. The old sign can still be seen. The bar offered no food service, at least during our visit, and hotel no longer rents rooms on a nightly basis. Instead, they are rented out long term and owner lives up there too.

“We had a gentleman in here last month. I took a picture of him with him and I put it on our Facebook page (the Grand Tavern Rimbey). He was actually a bartender here in the 70s. He is in long-term care. His eyes got really big. He’s like, this place hasn’t changed so much.” – Jay.

On the evening of our visit there were more VLT players than bar patrons and we have noted this is a common scene when shooting the Beer Parlour Project. Gambling seems to bring in the patrons these days, more so than beer.

Many old Alberta Liquor Control Board issue bar-tables can be found ins the Grand Hotel Tavern. They are those cast iron, three-legged ones and with the round top. They usually have a Formica laminate – the Skylark and Capri patterns, or something close, are commonly seen. Some beer parlours would cover them in an absorbent terry-cloth type material to help sop up spills.

These tables date back to the 1940s and 1950s and are probably original to the Grand Hotel. There’s evidence of an old second door into the bar – the old “Ladies & Escorts” entrance – back when that was enforced. Those glass blocks (albeit painted over) are so 1940s.

Names are found scratched into a table top – we recognize one name (Liza) and she’s from the Victoria Hotel in Bruderheim Alberta, which was a stop for the Beer Parlour Project. We were actually told to look for it, but there’s a lot of names there, so it took a while.

Today Rimbey is a local hub for the area. Farming and the oil and gas sectors are the main employers. The town boasts all amenities and has a busy downtown core.

Rimbey, Alberta: Population about 2,500, located in Ponoka County, and about 60km NW of Red Deer.