Saskatoon’s newest saloon opens up just in time for Phase 3

A one-of-a-kind saloon opened up in a southeast Saskatoon man’s backyard last Friday, just in time for Phase 3 of Saskatchewan’s relaunch.

You might be wondering what makes this saloon different from any other bar in the city. Well, the patrons are quite nutty … and a lot smaller too.

Dave Hunchak found himself with a lot of time on his hands while he has been quarantining with his family. So he decided to make a saloon scaled perfectly for squirrels.

“I have built a lot of different things, renovations, stuff like that but this is definitely the first time I have done a project like this,” said Hunchak. “We 3D-printed the bottles and printed labels online to put on. It seemed like a good project for being stuck at home.”

Aside from learning to operate a 3D printer, Hunchak implemented cutting and used glue to construct the two-storey bar.

The project was no easy task, taking roughly 100 hours to put together, and costing him around $200.

“I’m retired, but I’ve been an engineer, musician, entrepreneur, but I’m mostly just kickin’ around right now,” said Hunchak.

He can now add ‘saloon owner’ to his list of careers.

These patrons might even be a little bit more responsible than typical bar patrons … sometimes.

“They seem to police themselves pretty well. They fill their cheeks, then they go and stuff it in their dens … I’d say they are pretty responsible,” said Hunchak. “They are very territorial so if one is in there and another shows up, they have a little bit of a bar fight.

“There is two at most, then they start scrapping. They are social distancing like everyone else.”

Word must be spreading in the squirrel community that this place is the talk of the town, as guests made sure to show up as soon as it opened.

“They are just so darn cute, and clever too. And bold,” Hunchak said. “Within 10 minutes I put it out and they were exploring the whole thing. It’s pretty neat to see the confidence they have.”

Hunchak got the idea last year after he and his family started feeding peanuts to the squirrels in his backyard. He was shocked about how close they would get to him.

It got to the point that they would sit on his lap for a few moments.

Overall, the whole experience has been quite rewarding for him.

“The best part of building this has been seeing the squirrels enjoy it,” said Hunchak.