Tantallon begins to heal after bar burns down in April fire

For the first time in more than 12 years, Kyle Brule’s summer isn’t being spent slinging beer and wings.

Instead, the owner of the Valley View Hotel and Bar in Tantallon — located about 225 kilometres east of Regina — has been on the phone with his insurance provider, sorting out the next steps for his business.

In April, the century-old building was levelled by a fire.

Brule still vividly remembers getting the 2 a.m. wakeup call that his livelihood was burning away.

“It was a long, emotional night to sit there and watch most of your life go up in flames,” he recalled.

More than three months later, the twisted tin and rubble still remain on the west side of the village’s now-nearly vacant Main Street.

Brule said fire inspectors have assessed the scene, but he’s still waiting to hear back about the cause of the blaze.

“It’s been slow here, just waiting for answers, but it’s starting to come along,” he said in an interview last Thursday.

This week, Tantallon’s mayor, Jim Johnson, said crews are expected to begin cleaning up the wreckage, something the community’s looking forward to so it can begin to heal. He said every time locals pass the rubble, they’re reminded of that tragic spring night.

About a dozen snowmobiles are seen parked outside the Valley View Hotel and Bar in Tantallon in the winter of 2019. (Kyle Brule/Submitted)

“It was sad, there were a lot of tears, a lot of feelings and emotions going on (the night of the fire) that you wouldn’t believe. The first thing you’d be seeing are the flames going and you’d remember all the people you used to meet there and all the good times,” Johnson said, adding that he has 70 years worth of stories from the Valley View.

“When it first went down, we had people driving from a long, long way just to look at (the rubble) because there are an awful lot of families — people who have grown up around here, who have gone away, but came back because of the memories of meeting up in the bar.”

On top of being the host of the village’s annual Telemiracle auction, and a gathering place for local family reunions, weddings and funerals, the Valley View was equally enjoyed by the wider community.

With Tantallon tucked at the bottom of the Qu’Appelle Valley, it’s a hot spot for quadders and snowmobilers. Because of that, both Brule and Johnson say it was Saskatchewan-renowned, especially for its Thursday wing nights and Saturday steak nights, which would often triple the village’s normal population of 100 people.

“I’d go somewhere even on a holiday — hours and hours away somewhere — and somebody would find out that, ‘Oh, you live in Tantallon and own the bar? I’ve been there for wings before.’ That’s from random strangers,” Brule said.

‘We have to have it rebuilt’

With plans for the three-month-old rubble to be cleared sometime this week and the insurance money hopefully to follow, Brule said — without question — he intends to rebuild a bar and restaurant.

Though Brule recognizes that it’ll take some time figuring out funds and a plan for the new building, he said it’s crucial for the village.

“We just had a few newer houses being moved (into Tantallon) with some younger families … we are starting to grow,” he explained. “To have something back up and going again would be great — especially for the growth of the community.”

With the Valley View gone, Johnson said that leaves no real spot for residents to get together. He noted there are a few tables inside the local convenience store, but no place to grab a meal.

Should the insurance not pull through the way Brule hopes, Johnson says the village and surrounding communities are prepared to step up and help.

“It was a meeting place — we had nothing else,” Johnson said. “We have to have it rebuilt, there’s just no other way.”