The new Brandon bar offers social contacts, live music in a non-alcoholic environment

A new nightclub in southwestern Manitoba’s largest city is serving drinks to support sobriety.

Glen Kruck had dreamed of bringing a sober club to Brandon for years. His vision came to fruition in early January when Club 1202 launched downtown at 1202 Rosser Ave.

“I thought, ‘We need to do something to help people stay in recovery,'” said Kruck, director of special projects for the nonprofit Brandon Community Health and Housing Association, which runs Club 1202.

The idea for the bar came from an old friend who had experienced alcohol addiction, Kruck said. As her friend began to recover, she complained that she had nowhere to go for something as simple as a game of pool because that would require going to a bar.

“That was the seed for me,” Kruck said.

Club 1202 is Brandon’s first low-key, non-alcoholic-only bar, which Kruck describes as “a chance to socialize in a dry environment.” It is currently open on Saturdays from 18:30 to 21:30, with live music every night.

Guests do not need to be alcohol-free to enter the club, which is open to all ages, but people are expected to be sober when they visit.

The $5 cover charge includes one drink and helps pay for the staff to run the club. Games include table tennis, darts, chess, puzzles and cribbage, and there is also a small gym.

Kruck says the new club fits into the community health and housing association’s overall program, which provides housing support for those experiencing homelessness and programs for those recovering from addiction.

Club 1202 is in a previously unused space in the basement of an apartment building owned by a housing company. It is furnished with reusable supplies from the association’s second company, the Building Re-Fit Store.

Kruck said the club is hoped to be a healthy oasis for visitors, as people trying to stay sober are often faced with an inundation of encouraging media and messages to drink.

He said settings like Club 1202 are important for people recovering from addiction, but it’s also a place for “the general public who just want to go somewhere without drinking and enjoy good music and company.”

“There is no pressure”

The club’s sober bartender KurtisLebleu-Jamieson has been in recovery for 14 months.

For people in recovery, it can feel like there aren’t many social activities because alcohol is a part of so many of those activities, Lebleu-Jamieson said. But a non-alcoholic club can offer an alternative.

“It’s a really good channel to make new friends and do something different” and have fun in a space you don’t have to use [alcohol],” he said.

“There’s no pressure. You don’t have to worry about temptations or anything like that. You can just come and have fun.”

When the Club 1202 space is full, it has a great atmosphere, Lebleu-Jamiesons said, unlike anywhere else she’s been.

He especially appreciates live music, which is hard to find in Brandon outside of places that serve alcohol.

“If you’re on the road to recovery … it’s just a much better option than anything else available,” he said.

“You might be reluctant to go out to a bar, or you might not want to be in those situations. But when you come here, it’s going to be around like-minded people who all have common interests,” he said. .

“It’s just easier to get to know people and not feel like you have to stay home.”