New Gold Range owners Joel Park, left, Jay Park, and Sam Park, stand behind the bar. - Stephanie McDonald/NNSL photo

Stephanie McDonald
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 21, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife landmark and nationally-recognized bar has officially changed ownership.

Jay Park of Edmonton, along with his two sons, are the new owners of the Gold Range Hotel and bar.

A tae kwon do master, the elder Park came to Canada from Seoul, Korea in 1976 to teach the sport.

In the 30 years that followed, Park has opened 16 tae kwon do schools in Western Canada with 1,200 active students, and he sells real estate.

In 1986 he opened a tae kwon do school in Yellowknife and has been in and out of the city ever since.

Park learned of the Gold Range on one of his first visits to the city. Park's two sons, Joel and Sam, became interested in running a hotel, and Jay told them about the Gold Range.

Talks with previous Range owner Richard Yurkiw had been ongoing for two years, and the Parks became official owners at the end of February.

Jay will be in and out of the city, while Sam and Joel, who are now Yellowknife residents, will be running the daily operations of the bar. Sam has a business degree from the University of Alberta, while Joel has a diploma in business management from Grant MacEwan College.

"It's a really good challenge for them," Park said. "It is a good career move, stepping out into the big world."

A seasoned businessman, he also had words of caution for his two sons.

"I told them that this is not an easy business."

Easing the transition is a committed team of workers, some of whom have been at the bar for 15 years.

"We have a tremendous staff."

Bar patrons keep coming up to Joel, saying, "I heard you are going to change the bar or tear it down."

He said Gold Range clientele can rest assured that no major changes will be made.

"It is a Yellowknife landmark in a building," his father Jay said. "We will continue to carry on the business as usual.

"People feel like it is their living room and feel comfortable coming here."

The Parks hope to maintain an environment where patrons feel safe. Park knew the Gold Range had a reputation for being a "rough and tough bar" before he assumed ownership.

He said that Yurkiw had done a lot to clean the place up, and he plans to continue this work.

"We are trying to work with the community to make a clean environment here."

Park said that he approaches young people in the bar and says, "you can drink here, but there are rules. If you come here looking for trouble, you can leave."

Park said that 99.9 per cent of the people he has met at the bar so far are good people.

"Compared to Edmonton, the clientele is much better."