By Matthew McCully
“We want to offer a bloody good meal and good service at a good price with some bloody good companionship between the community and the student body.”
-Stanley Groves, January 1974 Record interview.
Well, it seems as though they managed to do just that and keep patrons satisfied, because five decades later the place is still standing.
This weekend, The Golden Lion Pub in Lennoxville will celebrate 50 years in business with a two-day bash. A Méchoui will be served up, accompanied by three live bands on Friday, and live music will continue Saturday night with another band to allow out-of-towners time to make their way to Lennoxville and join in the festivities.
Point of fact: for the Lion’s 20th anniversary, beer was sold at the original 1973 price when the pub first opened, around 45 cents a stein.
No one floated that idea for the 50th, although the Groves certainly plan on giving the community a weekend to remember.
The Record sat down with Glenys, Kevin and Stan (jr.) Groves and manager Chantal Paquet to take a look back at the last 50 years at The Lion.
Three Bishop’s profs, Stanley Groves, Robert Barnett and David Seale were the original owners of the business (although David Seale is referred to as a secret shareholder in early reporting about The Lion).
Today, it is jointly owned by Groves’ sons Stan (Jr.) and Kevin.
And there from the very beginning was Stanley Groves’ widow, Glenys.
When asked if she thought The Lion would still be around after 50 years, without skipping a beat, she replied, “absolutely not!”
“My dad was a teetotaler,” she explained, and he was mortified by the prospect that Glenys had gotten herself a husband who planned to own a tavern.
