It’s finally happening. After months of lease extensions and general uncertainty, Abbotsford’s Lulie Street Tavern – the bar slated to become apartments from day one – is actually going to close.

The good news? Owners Jon Farrell and Brendan Kennedy have secured a new site 150 metres away. They plan to christen it with the same name, or something very similar, though “Serendipity” would also be appropriate.

One: the former rug shop is slightly longer than the old site, and almost exactly the same width. All the existing furniture will be moved over with no change in configuration, alongside light fittings, artworks, the pool table and bar.

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Two: the new site shares a wall and landlord with Rita’s Cafeteria’s takeaway kitchen. Rita’s pizza has always been a huge part of the Lulie experience, and will continue to be here. There’s just one difference: your pizza will be passed through a canteen-style window, rather than delivered from across the street.

Three: the lease is long. Seven years initially, with two optional seven-year extensions. This has given Farrell and Kennedy the confidence to invest in little extras such as proper vinyl flooring in the bar and toilets, plus a larger back bar.

The new site has some other perks, too. There’s a long decked area down the side for smokers; an old vault that will become a tiny private room; and skylights that grant constant natural light, rather than the old Lulie’s uncomfortable afternoon blaze.

Farrell and Kennedy plan to throw a closing party at the original site on a Saturday in late February or early March, before moving everything down the street and reopening the following Thursday.

Lulie Street Tavern will reopen at 225 Johnston Street, Abbotsford in late February or early March.

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