Bobby's Place Olde World Tavern Partner Profile

"When Bobby and Freda immigrated to Canada with their seven children, Bobby came over with a dream.  He had always dreamt of opening his own Scottish pub and often spoke of doing so with his daughter Monica.  It would be in essence, a piece of Scotland that they could always carry with them. 

Unfortunately, Bobby did not live long enough to see his dreams come to fruition.  He and his wife Freda passed away far too young.  Monia shared her father's dream and found solace in the ability to build it into something magical and truly inspiring.  She was unable to open a pub with her father but nothing would stop her from opening it for him and in tribute to the wonderful person he was.  Both Bobby's and Freda's memories and essence are profoundly grounded in the foundation that is Bobby's Place today. 

We hope you will raise a glass with us in loving memory of them the next time you pop in!" 

When you go to www.bobbysplaceoldeworldtavern.com you will find that story and much more including a mouthwatering menu and an events section which will, later this summer, reveal upcoming special events and live music returning to the pub. 

Bobby's Place Olde World Tavern on High Street East in downtown Moose Jaw is the go-to pub for hundreds of locals.  The atmosphere, the service, the food and always friendly service are just a few of the things that keep them coming back. 

The pub truly is a dream-come-true for Monica Haakenson and her husband Kevin. 

Monica gets emotional when she talks about the pub, her parents and keeping the memories alive. 

"My mother was very young she passed away.  She was only 49 and that was 36 years ago.  My dad died when my son was only 3 years old, so it's been 30 years since he's been gone and I've had the pub for 20 years," Monica said. 

Monica came to Canada with the whole family when she was a little girl about 56 years ago and she remembers it well. 

"Oh, gosh, I do... I remember many things about Scotland... And I've been back three times.  It was 1965 when my dad came over and he was in Canada for a year before we all came over.  We settled down in Saskatoon about a year-and-a-half before we went to Colonsay and that's where I grew up.  My dad worked at Noranda Potash Mine.  They were bringing in immigrants to work there and my dad was one of them.  He worked there for quite a few years before he became very ill.  It's a long story... My dad was an incredible soul.  He was an amazing, beautiful man - a gentlemen's gentleman who would give you the shirt off his back and the last penny in his pocket.  That was the type of person he was.  My parents had a struggle - it was a very difficult life for both of them especially since my dad did get so sick so young." 

"It was those two and their children up against the world... But it made us absolutely everything that we are.  All of my brothers and sisters have done extremely well for themselves and their families.  My parents would be so very, very proud to see them all right now.  They have degrees, they have amazing jobs, they have beautiful families - everything that I know my mom and dad struggled for... To give to us what they couldn't achieve when they were young.  They made all of us kids who we are... They were just incredible," Monica said. 

In fact, it was family support and her parents' declining health that brought Monica to Moose Jaw all those years ago. 

"My dad was very sick.  And I had a sister in Moose Jaw and at that time in my life I was a single mom, and I needed a little family support myself because there were two siblings and my youngest son who was, at that time, just a baby and then my mother got very sick shortly after we came to Moose Jaw.” 

“I got a very good job at Extendicare... I was the sole income earner and breadwinner.  My mom was dying of cancer and my dad was struggling,” Monica continued. 

“What brought me to Moose Jaw was to get help from my big sister... We just worked together and did what we had to do and then I just didn't look back." 

"My life should probably be a book or a movie," Monica said with a laugh. 

"Something my mother always said to me, there's a reason for everything in this lifetime.  It's one life - make it your best life.  That's simply what I tried to do, and I would not change anything in the world to restructure that.  I walked my past and I'm still walking it and it's been pretty good," Monica said. 

Monica and her husband Kevin met at one of Moose Jaw's hottest nightclubs back in the day.  It was called The Traffic Jam.  Locals affectionately called it TJ's.  It was located in the Grant Hall Hotel. 

"I was in there one night and she came in with her best friend who happened to be married to my cousin who was in the military, and I hadn't seen him in three or four years.  I got her phone number, and I called her a couple of times... And it just fizzled.  We didn't connect.  Our lives were in two different places.  So, that only lasted about a month-and-a-half," Kevin explained.  But, as fate would have it, they met again. 

"It was about two years later I walked back into TJ's and there's my cousin with his wife who I hadn't seen since that last time and again, they were sitting there with Monica.  So, I got her to dance a few times and she gave me her phone number again and that was it.  We never stopped dating each other and eventually got engaged and got married.  It was fate.  We just tried to start a little too soon the first time," Kevin laughed. 

That's the love story.  The story of working to own a Scottish pub was a chapter to follow years down the road. 

"I was always wanting to own a business... I took accounting at SIAST, so I was orientated to starting my own business and Monica and her dad had always talked about opening a pub.  So, one day, I just said OK, I've got a good job, we've got money coming in and we can mortgage the house.  Let's go for it!", Kevin explained. 

It was at that time Monica had been working at Tammy's Cafe which was situated in the old bus depot on High Street.  It closed but then another business opened in that space called Bill's Cafe. 

"Bill was a friend of ours and when he opened the restaurant out front, we said well, we can open a little pub in the back and that's how we started.  I took a leave of absence from my job at Canadian Salt and about three months in I just gave up that job and decided the pub's going to make it," Kevin said. 

"I remember when we were just getting started, the liquor inspector came in and saw that we had 8 taps.  We had the most taps in Moose Jaw at the time and he told us we were nuts.  He said we'd throw out half of our beer.  He said we just wouldn't sell that much draft.  Well, we're now up to 15 taps," Kevin said with a laugh. 

Bobby's Place Olde World Tavern has a totally unique story and it's a story Kevin is very proud of. 

"We built the pub ourselves with the help of Mike Gilmore who's a bricklayer here in town.  That was the first pub - the 50-seat pub.  We did most of the construction work ourselves with a little help from Cardinal Construction.  We started in 2002 and actually got our license March 17th, 2002, St. Patrick's Day but they didn't give it to us until 3 o'clock in the afternoon so we couldn't open for St. Patrick's Day but that weekend was just like St. Patrick's Day.  Everybody came out and there was a lot of buzz in town.  I didn't realize that... It caught us totally by surprise.  After that first weekend, it was just crazy in here and it was a lot of fun," Kevin reminisced. 

The Scottish culture is at the very heart of Bobby's Place.  While many local beer drinkers love to sample all the brands on tap, Monica and Kevin stock a full lineup of Scotch. 

"Oh, yes!", Kevin said.  "The most I ever got up to is 75 varieties, but we usually stick to around 50 to 55 varieties.  We usually hold two Scotch tastings a year.  We haven't been able to do that during the COVID pandemic, unfortunately.  We were pretty much the first ones doing that in Saskatchewan... I've always said we are a Celtic pub with a very strong Scottish flavour.  We have European beers, Scotches... We try to incorporate all the stops from the Welsh to the Irish," Kevin boasted. 

Monica and Kevin are most pleased to see more and more pandemic restrictions being lifted and are very much looking forward to the day all of their loyal customers are comfortable with returning to Bobby's Place. 

"You know, when we went straight to pick-up and delivery only we had a lot of trouble.  We were actually losing money, but the people of Moose Jaw did support us.  Once we got back (and were able to) open a few seats inside - we were very lucky.  We have a good following of people from Moose Jaw and Regina.  We've been able to make a few dollars.  We only had to lay staff off during the pick-up and delivery phase but once we opened up to customers again, our staff is back to full-time hours and we're getting enough business to keep them here," Kevin said with pride. 

"I can't wait to get some live music back in here.  We'll get Desperate for Haggis (local Celtic band) back in here on Saturday afternoons and get some live bands in on Saturday evenings.  We have been able to bring our trivia nights back so that's a good thing.  We've been full every trivia night - socially distanced of course - but we've been full," Kevin said. 

And while trivia nights, live bands, good Scotch and a wide variety of beers keep bringing the patrons into Bobby's Place, you'll also find many locals who recommend the food to family, friends and tourists alike.  From freshly made fish 'n chips to the delicious roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, you just can't go wrong.  What's the secret? 

"It's simple.  It's real.  It's heartfelt.  It's comfort food the way comfort food should be," Monica said. 

"I grew up with limited things in our home... But everything was made from scratch.  There was no such thing as eating from a box.  You know what?  I didn't even know how to make Kraft Dinner until I was 23 or 24 because everything as simple as macaroni and cheese was made from scratch when I was growing up.  We made bread, buns, cookies and cake and that brings me to the Yorkshire pudding.  That was the Sunday feast for myself and my brothers and sisters growing up.  We would always share that day together as a family.  My mother was a spiritual person, so we'd go to church and have the priest come over and what have you.  It was always a beautiful roast beef dinner with the mashed potatoes and turnips, the homemade gravy and Yorkshire pudding... That was just something we did every Sunday," Monica said. 

"I just can't welcome people who come into my pub, welcome them and feed them something that comes out of a package or a box... That's just the way I am and that's the only way I know how to do things.  I guess I've kind of succeeded at that because people do come to this pub because of the food... To me, it's real pub food and it's made from scratch and a lot of people love that," Monica told us. 

You can find Bobby's Place on Facebook, you can learn more and have a look at the menu at www.bobbysplaceoldeworldtavern.com but the best way to experience Bobby's Place is to drop in anytime you like at 63 High Street East in beautiful downtown Moose Jaw.