Inuvik bids farewell – or good riddance – to hotel

A landmark hotel in Inuvik will close early in the new year after four decades in business.

The Mackenzie Hotel shuts its doors on Jan. 3.

Owners say the building is old and beyond repair and it's time for something new.

Marty Verbonac, the vice-president of the Mackenzie Delta Hotel Group, isn't sure how he feels about the looming closure.

"It's mixed emotions for sure," he says. "I've had a lot of really good times here and really bad times here. Yeah, there will be a lot of memories that go down with it, that's for sure."

The two-storey, 32-room hotel was built in 1960. It gained notoriety in 2001 when a front-desk clerk was fatally stabbed.

• FROM: Oct. 27, 2003 Blair murder trial opens in Inuvik

But there were good times, too, especially for the regulars at the hotel's Sunriser Cafe, which closed Dec. 24.

"Oh yes, we'll miss it," says Ray Kruezi. "We used to eat there every day."

Wayne Smith was another regular. "Well, it was good service and just a place to hang out and meet people and catch up on the news. We usually knew long before the newspaper or radio we knew what was going on."

Furniture and collectibles from the hotel will be sold off in an auction and cash-and-carry sale this weekend.

The Mackenzie Hotel will be demolished and a new hotel and restaurant built within a year.