Our Story

A Cranbrook watering hole since the nineteen eighties.

The York has been standing in downtown Cranbrook since the late 1890s, making it one of the city's oldest surviving hotel buildings — and if these walls could talk, we're pretty sure we'd have to censor a few things.

Research suggests The York was once known as The Canadian, although exactly when the name changed is a little fuzzy. Old photographs show a building that's remained surprisingly recognizable through more than a century of Cranbrook history.

By the 1960s, it was advertising “Cranbrook's finest Coffee Shop and Dining Room.” Very respectable.

Then came the 1980s.

At one point, The York was reportedly home to a strip joint. Don't ask about our sources. Some parts of history are better left at the bar.

Over the decades, The York has been a hotel, a restaurant, a bar and probably a few things that never made it into the history books. In 2021, its doors were shuttered and the building sat quiet — well, mostly quiet — for a time.

But you don't keep a place like The York down forever.

The doors eventually opened again, the drinks started pouring, the stage came back to life, and The York Country Cabaret was born.

Today, we're keeping the spirit of the old York alive: a little country, a little divey, rough around the edges and damn proud of it.

Cold drinks. Live music. Good people. No pretending to be something we're not.

A lot has changed since the 1890s. The York hasn't changed that much.

And we kinda like it that way.