Jess McDiarmid
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 30, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The city has allocated $140,000 in its 2008 draft budget to repair the rotting foundation of the Wildcat Cafe.

The building has shifted over the past four years and a subsequent engineering assessment found the landmark is sliding down the hill.

The funds would cover jacking the building to fix the foundation.

Grant White, director of community services for the city, said the proposed repairs would take place just before or just after the typical May to September operating season.

"So it wouldn't disrupt the operations," said White.

Repairs are estimated to take four to six weeks.

The Wiley Road structure was designated a heritage site by the city in 1992, almost 60 years after Willie Wylie and Smokey Stout opened it.

In those days, said Catherine Pellerin, chair of the Wildcat Cafe Advisory Committee, every dish cost a dollar whether it was a full meal or a bowl of soup, and people from all walks of life ate together at a single, long table.

In later years, the Wildcat was Yellowknife's first Chinese restaurant.

Recently, the city has replaced the roof, kitchen equipment and dining tables, and stained the decks and interior.

Repairs on buildings like the Wildcat never stop, said Pellerin.

"You're looking at a building that's 70 years old," she said. "These stick-built buildings were thrown up quickly... It was never conceived that they'd last this long."

Pellerin said heritage sites, such as the Wildcat Cafe, contribute to the character of the city as well as serving as tourist attractions.

Gathering spots like the Wildcat offer a sense of community, too, as locals and visitors from around the world gather and tell stories, she said.

"If we don't work to preserve, it will be gone. And once it's gone, that's it. You can't get them back."