After five years of renovations, the historic Savoy Hotel opened with a splash last week.
Mayor Deb Kozak joined the grand opening party on Thursday by saying to owner Jimmy Bundschuh “you have breathed new life into this building” shortly before the ribbon and cake-cutting ceremony in the jam-packed Bloom nightclub.
The inn on west Baker Street, which first opened in 1914 as the Athabasca Hotel, was a run-down structure when owner Bundschuh bought the property in 2013.
He invested substantially into the property; opening the nightlclub first, followed by the Falls music lounge, the Savoy Brewery micro-brew pub, the Farm Fresh Cafe and finally the 12 boutique hotel rooms this year.
“Well, here we are,” Bundschuh told the crowd. “It was a bigger undertaking than we expected, but it was worth it.”
Bundschuh, founder and owner of the Shambhala Music Festival, also delivered thanks to all those involved from staff to family to renovators.
Over the course of the day an estimated 1,000 attended the opening. The event featured performances from artists including The Get Up Get Down, The Hillties and Rob Fun.
The winner of the grand prize, which included a two-night stay in the Savoy’s King Suite, was Franky Bergmann.
