The Royal Hotel in downtown Medicine Hat is left decimated following a fire in the early morning of Sept. 16.--NEWS PHOTO KENDALL KING
kking@medicinehatnews.com
The community is coming together to show support for those most impacted by the fire which destroyed Medicine Hat’s historic Royal Hotel last week.
“The support is overwhelming and heartwarming in a time that’s very tragic and difficult,” Royal business owner Lynne Palmer told the News.
Palmer, who purchased the establishment three years ago, says shes been bombarded with positive messages and acts of kindness since the news of the Sept. 16 early morning blaze broke. From social media posts to a GoFundMe campaign organized in her name, Palmer says she’s amazed by the support.
“(It’s meaningful) just seeing how everybody’s rallying behind me,” Palmer said Tuesday. “But it’s not just me that lost the business; the community lost an institution, and I know that everybody’s grieving. So, my heart is with them as much as theirs are with me.”
A pillar of Medicine Hat’s downtown for the past 127 years, the Royal Hotel has been many things through its existence, including an overnight rest stop for travelling workers and visitors to the city, a bar and gathering place for locals and launch pad for up-and-coming musicians.
“It was just (a place for) the whole community to come together,” Royal server and GoFundMe organizer Vanessa Hood said. “It did not matter who you were, you were always welcomed at the Royal no matter what. There was absolutely no judgment. So, it was such a loving environment just to go out and have fun at.”
Hood said she set up the GoFundMe in an attempt to help Palmer recover from the loss of the business, which was not insured under host liability insurance. With a total goal of $20,000, the fundraiser has already amassed over $4,000 in donations, all of which will be provided to Palmer.
“I knew that the community would show their support,” said Hood. “A lot of people are missing it. Just go on Facebook and you can see … people posting pictures and memories from there.”
While Hood hopes the donations might one day be put toward establishment of a second Royal Hotel, Palmer says it is too soon to consider such.
“The building itself has so many memories and is so special that I don’t think it can be recreated,” Palmer said. “So for now, I’m just very grateful for everybody’s support.”
Building owners are also unsure of what the next course of action will be, and instead are focusing on completing the necessary processes following the fire, as the building itself was insured.
Nevertheless, they too are saddened by loss the loss of the Royal, but express gratitude for community support.
“It’s a collective heartbreak for everybody, including us, with respect to the building,” said Ryan Jackson, one of three building co-owners. “And knowing how hard Lynne has worked over the past three years … You know, she went through COVID and then, finally, she started to get some traction with respect to the to the bar and this happens. It’s just heartbreaking. That’s really all a person can say.”
The GoFundMe page can be found at gofundme.com/f/the-royal-bar.
