Alexis Ducasse and the rest of the Denizen Hall staff are getting ready for a busy long weekend. In addition to it being Valentine’s Day on the Saturday night, the night before is Friday the 13th and the upcoming Monday is Family Day. What else is there to do than throw a series of ’80s era themed parties?
“When the Denizen Hall staff decides to do these things, it’s literally just us sitting around and thinking about what we think is funny,” explains Alexis, Denizen Hall’s General Manager.
The series of parties that resulted from the Denizen Hall staff discussions resulted in a weekend starting with a Friday the 13th film franchise party featuring Denizen Hall’s own Jason Voorhees pretending to kill staff members every half hour. The Saturday night saw a Dirty Dancing film themed party. And the weekend capped off with one of Edmonton’s favourite local hair metal tribute bands, Ratt Poison.
“We just like throwing silly parties,” says Alexis. “The staff all dress up, about a quarter of the customers dress up and it makes for a fun experience.”
If your other half has more video games than he does pairs of socks, why not encourage him to enjoy some gaming outside of the house, retro-style? Denizen Hall is a great local hub that offers yummy eats, refreshing drinks and, most importantly, a full-sized old school arcade with pinball and a whole range of other stand up games! You can challenge your guy to a high score battle, or simply cheer him on from the side lines while you enjoy a delicious cocktail. Either way, everyone is a winner!
A gastro pub in the Ice District, Denizen Hall is for the “everyday and extraordinary Edmontonian.” Between the location’s history, the old school arcade games and the gourmet pub fare, the Deni provides stellar, standard caesars in a unique atmosphere. Each Caesar is lightly and perfectly garnished with spicy green beans, lemon and lime.
It’s easy to lose track of time here; I’ve definitely spent a couple hours trying to up my game on The Denizen Hall’s pinball machines, one of several crowd-pleasers in its extensive retro arcade. The fun and games don’t stop here though. Come down for Happy Hour, between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., when you can try your hand at a game of rock-paper-scissors to win half off your appetizer while you sip on a $4 PBR or Yellowhead lager. Or come between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. for $2.75 house highballs!