Mad Trapper owner hopes bar doesn't become another eyesore in Inuvik

The owner of Inuvik's Mad Trapper says it's unfortunate that he's had to take the drastic step of selling the bar, and worries that the building might become another boarded-up eyesore in town.

"It's a shame," said Rick Adams, the Mad Trapper's owner.

"The town is suffering. Drive down main street, look at the boarded-up buildings. Look at the buildings we are tearing down. Look at the buildings that are burning down."

Adams said he decided to sell the Mad Trapper in February, after town council rejected his bid to open on Sundays. Council debated his request during several rounds of discussion, with the most vocal opposition heard at a public meeting where about 60 attendees overwhelmingly told their representatives they didn't want to see the bar expand its operation.

"I don't blame the council. They represent the people," Adams said.

"It's a shame that only about five per cent of the population was able to control 95 per cent of the people, and yes I am upset with that."

Adams said he wanted a fair chance to compete against restaurants in Inuvik, which can sell alcohol on Sundays, and he said residents didn't give him that.

"They didn't give me the respect to have the same fairness that they offer other licence holders," Adams said.

"So I will take my wife and my family and we will go to an area where I can open up on Sundays."

Adams said he's considering opening a bar in Yellowknife or British Columbia.

He said he loves the hospitality business and the Mad Trapper, but he fears the bar's next owner will be an investor who will hold it as an asset and allow it to collect dust.  

"If they don't get a more positive business attitude I don't know why they would try to continue on, they might just decide to board it up," he said.

Adams is asking $1.6 million for the Mad Trapper — he won't say if he's gotten any offers.