One year ago, Mark Linton had a vision of bringing some nightlife back to the City of Red Deer.
Last January, two staples in Red Deer’s late night club scene, Bellinis Sonic Lounge and Longriders Saloon, shut their doors for good. Wanting to give young adults a place where they can go out and have some fun, Linton opened The Silver Buckle a few months later.
“They needed somewhere safe and somewhere fun to create some memories. That was the whole idea,” said Linton, owner of the club.
The name of the country-themed club, located in the city’s north end, is an homage to a former country bar that operated out of the former North Hill Inn years ago. That space later become the Electric Cowboy and Wild Bill’s Sports Bar, but didn’t re-open after the pandemic.
A year after opening the doors, Linton said The Silver Buckle has remained busy.
“There’s been a learning curve because I’ve never owned a club before. Luckily I had the right staff that I brought over from Longriders and Bellinis,” he said.
“We’re still always working to make physical (improvements) to the club itself. Our team is getting stronger and stronger all of the time. We’re also starting to reach out to the community with sponsorships and things like that.
“We’re looking forward to building even stronger relationships with the community. We’ve been told by a lot of people that we’ve brought economy back to the north end of the city, so that’s a good thing. We’re going to keep working away … and continue to provide a safe place for people to come and be part of a family.”
The Silver Buckle is open Wednesday and Thursday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., as well as Friday and Saturday from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Linton said the club is lining up “at least a dozen” theme nights. There will also be live performances for people to look forward to, including the Shania Twain tribute act Totally Twain on May 23. Totally Twain features Vancouver vocalist Michelle Reid performing some of Twain’s biggest hits.
Work is also being done to bring standup comedy to the venue.
For more information on The Silver Buckle, visit www.silverbuckle.ca.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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