Built in 1906, this two story wood frame building was home to George Owen's Second-Hand Store until changing hands in 1913. If the lettering on the building back then was any indication, the major business conducted on this lot was that of an auction house, as the uppermost lettering on both front and sides of the building advertised
GEO. L. OWEN, AUCTIONEER.
The next owner remodelled and turned the building into a cafe. The following owner, Don Dong, took over in 1920, making it a Chinese restaurant. Don Dong happened to be Wetaskiwin's first naturalized citizen of Chinese descent, he, his brother and his son running the Club Cafe here for many years.
Beyond that, we know nothing more of the building's history. It appears to be used today as a residence. On the east side of the railroad tracks, it is a block outside the eastern edge of the main downtown 50th Avenue business district.
George Owen's Second-Hand Store
The building on this site was constructed in 1906. It originally housed George Owen's Second-Hand Store. George Owen lived above the store and kept race horses in a barn behind it. He also had an auction sale building there. Patrons to either of his businesses could tie their horses to the hitching rail at the side of this building where fresh city water could be hand-pumped into wooden troughs for the horses to drink. Unfortunately, this service was only available in the summer as the pumps froze up in the winter. In 1913, George Owen sold the building to Wong and Company, who converted it into a restaurant called the Union Cafe.
In 1920, Don Dong took over these premises and opened the Club Cafe. Don had come from China and was the first immigrant in Wetaskiwin to receive his Canadian citizenship papers. He operated the cafe for many years. During the Depression, when many Canadians rode the rails searching for work, Don could always be depended on for a wholesome meal, a place to sleep, and a few dollars to tide them over. His brother, Poo, and one of Don's sons, Long, took over the management of the restaurant after Don's death. In 1937, the Dong family remodelled the building, adding a new foundation and giving the front a facelift.
From the plaque at the building