Bitter Sisters Brewing

Though it certainly caters to homesick Maritimers, the big and boisterous crowd at The Atlantic Trap and Gill indicates its patrons are by no means limited to transplanted East Coasters.

The pub’s owners, sisters Jill and Tracey Johnson, got their start with a third business partner when they opened the East Coast-themed Newfie Tap and Grill pub in Vancouver in 1998. British Columbia liquor laws frowned on the use of the word “tap” in the business name, so the women changed it to its current uniquely maritime-sounding name.

The sisters moved the concept to Calgary the next year with the hopes business would be better. The pair established what quickly became a mainstay for those in the city seeking a beer hall with an Eastern edge. “I think I was 25 when we opened it, Tracey was 29. I feel like I was young enough to be dumb enough to do it,” Jill says with a laugh. She says The Atlantic Trap and Gill’s home for 15 years under the Days Inn on Macleod was popular, but admits the ragged edges and maintenance issues in the location didn’t always make for the most welcoming ambience. “I liked it, but seedy bars are apparently going out of style,” she says.