THUNDER BAY – The now-shuttered Apollo bar on Red River Road will find a new life as a cantina inspired by Mexican street food, while the new owners say they’ll preserve the venue’s legacy as a home for local music.
The sale represented a unique opportunity in the north core, said Jamie Baratta, who bought the property along with partners Keith Buna and brother Dillon Baratta.
“It’s a classic space – you know, the Apollo’s legendary in Thunder Bay,” he said. “We have a lot to live up to, but it was too much to pass up.”
The neighbourhood is a hot location, he said, with new businesses like the Goods & Co. market and other restaurants and bars attracting growing traffic.
“This part of town is really kind of taking off,” Baratta said. “It’s good to join that scene, for sure.”
The cantina will open as a second location for Norteños Taqueria, which the Baratta brothers operate in Westfort. Along with Mexican food like tacos, quesadillas, and tortas, the new location will offer drinks, live music, and entertainment including bands, DJs, and possibly comedy shows, he said.
“We still want to have the stage, we still want to give local bands the opportunity to perform,” said Baratta. “We’re going to keep the set-up similar, obviously we’re going to have more food. But the setting won’t change too much – we’ll just give everything a facelift.”
In the future, the partners plan to convert the second floor into rented apartments, and develop the third floor into Airbnb units.
The cantina is expected to open in late 2022 or in 2023.
The Apollo was put up for sale by the City of Thunder Bay after a tax default by the former owners.
It was listed for sale on the market by a realtor, while offers also had to include a development proposal, the city said.
Five proposals were compared by a development review committee before being presented to city council in closed session for a final decision.
The sale price for the property was $460,000, according to information shared publicly at the June 27 meeting of council.
The venue had launched fundraisers last year in an attempt to cover its tax arrears, which were in the area of $175,000 according to a GoFundMe post at the time.
