SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The building housing the Yellowknife Royal Canadian Legion is continuing to undergo a substantial interior facelift.

Nancy Hayward, owner of Danarey Hall Rental & Catering, stands at the bar counter inside the rental hall, located in the basement of the Danarey Building - formerly known as the Yellowknife Legion building. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

The Danarey Building – as it is now called by its current owners – is home to both the recently moved Headgear store but also another new business called Danarey Hall Rental & Catering.

In addition, the legion's new space is nearing completion, with a decision on when to reopen slated to take place at a Thursday night legion meeting.

The catering outfit is run by longtime Yellowknife caterer Nancy Hayward, wife of Dan Hayward, who owns Aurora Auto, which in turn owns the building.

Hayward's business, which operates out of the bottom floor hall, will rent the hall to clients and is also building a new boardroom adjacent to the hall and capable of hosting meetings for groups numbering between 12 and 30 people.

Both the room and hall will be equipped for wireless Internet, said Nancy.

"It's going to be its own, little, separate entity for small little groups and meetings," she said of the boardroom. "There's a lot (groups) that meet in the evening that don't have a place to go. This is designed for them."

As for the hall, it has already hosted several groups, including the Yellowknife Darts Association.

Nancy said she and Dan hatched their plan for the building one year ago, with the ultimate aim of retiring in Yellowknife – with occasional trips to a timeshare condo in Florida – five years from now.

The building's name is a reflection of that plan, with "D-a" standing for "Dan," "n-a" standing for "Nancy" and "r-e" standing for "retirement."

"'Y' is for 'yay,'" said Nancy, wearing a bright yellow T-shirt with dolphins bearing the name of the sunshine state.

Not that they're married to the plan. Once the five years are up, "Then we'll reassess and see if we can to keep going," she said.

The Yellowknife legion's new, smaller location is on the main floor of the building, beside Headgear, and includes over a dozen tables, a bar and a pool table.

"It's going to be more cozy, more friendly," said Brian Campbell, president of the legion.

The legion – which has an active membership of between 100 and 150 members, compared to 500 in its heyday – is holding a meeting at the new digs on Thursday night to discuss whether it's possible to reopen the legion in time for Friday night.

"We're hoping," said Campbell.