This February marks the 25th anniversary of The Yard & Flagon, a cornerstone of Broadway Avenue and a true Saskatoon institution. If you’ve spent any amount of time in this city — especially if you’re a creature of the Broadway strip — you’ve undoubtedly found yourself tucked into a booth or standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the bar, soaking in the pubby atmosphere.
In the UK, people refer to a pub as ‘their local’ because it’s the neighborhood spot they frequent on the regular. The term speaks to familiarity and community. It’s local in the geographical sense, close to your home. But also in the social sense, where you know the staff and regulars. Your local isn’t just a place to grab a drink; it’s a kind of second home where you catch up with friends, unwind after work, or watch the game while knockin’ em back on a Saturday night.
The Yard happens to be my local. I’ve been going there since the beginning, which is wild to fathom. 25 years! Where has the time gone? Where did my hair go?
I used to work at a video store (which again, speaks to how long the Yard has been around) and I’d hit up the Yard for pints after my shifts. For years, I was there four or five nights a week. However, these days, thanks to age, children, and life’s boring responsibilities, I can’t keep up that pace. That’s probably a good thing for my liver. Speaking of booze, I always got a chuckle out of Skot Hamilton’s description of The Yard & Flagon as, “a long, drinking hallway.”
Before The Yard, the owners had a spot downtown called The Black Duck, which was my haunt back in the day. They eventually shut the Duck down and replaced it, like a beer-soaked phoenix-duck rising from the ashes, with the Yard & Firkin. I basically got up from my seat at the Duck and wandered to a new one at The Yard. And of course, history knows that original name was quickly changed to the Yard & Flagon.
Over the years, I’ve also spent many hours writing there, parking myself in my favourite booth for lunch or a pint with my laptop or notebook, writing articles or working on my books.
In fact, the owners have been immensely supportive of my writing over the years. There’s a copy of my last book hanging on the wall at the back of the bar. That kind of support means something to me, on a pretty deep level. That’s community and friendship.
For me, the Yard & Flagon has been the backdrop to a thousand nights and just as many stories. In my younger days, we’d stay out late, howling at the moon. We’d start the evening with a table for two and watch it morph over the night into an ever-expanding collective of familiar faces, eventually taking over an entire side of the bar — a table for 30 or more. More than once, I found myself behind the bar slingin’ drinks — and I’ve never worked there. I was just…there, part of the family, in the way that only a true local can make you feel.
Back in the days of CD burning, my friend Kim and I took it upon ourselves to curate the soundtrack of these nights, supplying the Yard with our mix CDs for the five-disc changer. That was the Yard — no corporate playlist, just the music of the people who loved the place.
I’ve made lifelong friends at The Yard. I’ve had countless hilarious, sad, and profound conversations within its walls. I was introduced to my wife there, and to this day, we only live three blocks away, still darkening the doorway on a regular basis. Sometimes just for a pint, sometimes for lunch or dinner. They have some of the best pub grub in the city. I love their wings and fries in particular.
It’s winter right now, but it’s also worth thinking back (or forward) to the summer — there’s simply no better place in the city than the Yard’s rooftop deck to enjoy a pint on a hot summer day. Perched above Broadway Avenue, it offers a perfect vantage point to take in the hum of the street below while catching just the right breeze. Whether you’re settling in for an afternoon with friends or watching the sun set over the neighborhood, the Yard’s deck isn’t just a patio—it’s a rite of passage.
A great pub is more than just a place to get a drink; it’s a community hub, a meeting place, a home away from home. And for 25 years, The Yard & Flagon has been exactly that. So, raise your glass. Here’s to The Yard — may the taps never run dry, the patio always catch the perfect evening light, and the long, drinking hallway forever be filled with the laughter of good friends.
Thank you to Arno, Virginia, Grills, and all the amazing staff that have been a part of the legacy of this crucial institution for the last quarter century. I can honestly say that you’ve made Saskatoon a better place by giving a home, a gathering place, to the community, whether they be big wheels or lost souls. I can’t imagine my life without your friendship and this second home.
Cheers, and here’s to another 25 years! If we get that far, I’ll be the old man sipping his pint at the end of the bar.
Photo Credit: many of these photos were taken by me or my wife in the last 25 years (many more were lost to the sands of time or too embarrassing to post). A few others were lifted from The Yard & Flagon’s social media.
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