The Alcan Club was located at 3700 West Broadway in Robbinsdale.

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DE MERS BROS. SALOON

Treffle “Truffy” De Mers and his brother George, French Canadians by birth, operated the DeMers Bros. Saloon at this location in 1903, and probably until 1920.  As often happened, when Prohibition became the law of the land in 1920, the building became a “confectionery,” which was sometimes shorthand for a speakeasy.  The 1920 and 1930 Census both listed it a confectionery.  (In 1930 George was working at a laundry.)  When Prohibition ended, Truffy apparently either added liquor to his inventory, or turned his establishment into a tavern and liquor store.

 

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ALCAN CLUB

In 1942, the business was purchased by Joe DuPere and Art Bolier, two Army veterans who had been part of a group of Robbinsdale men who had worked on the Al-Can (Alaska-Canada) Highway.

 

 

 

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SHERRITT’S TAVERN

For three years, from about 1955 to 1958, the tavern was owned by Moose Sherritt, who changed the name to (natch..) Moose Sherritt’s Tavern.

 

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THE NEW ALCAN

In 1958, Sherritt went into “private business” and sold it to John Pappas.  John was previously in partnership with his brother George as owners of the Club 26 at Hennepin Ave. and 26th Ave. So.  The North Hennepin Post reported that as of April 10, 1958, the name would become the “New Alcan.”  John Pappas said that he planned to remodel the building, adding a false ceiling, new floor, and aair conditioning.  He also planned to remodel the upstairs hall, which was rented for community events.

 

 

According to the Robbinsdale Historical Society, the building was torn down in the late 1950s. The empty lot near the corner of 36th ad West Broadway was a used as a mini golf course until 1964 when Guaranty Bank opened on the corner.