Gracie Jane Genereux

Passion for her boutique and bar speaks volumes

When Gracie Jane Genereux opened A Boutique Gallery and Bar by Gracie Jane on Perron Street back in 2016, she had $17 to her name.

“I went into the bank to ask for a $50,000 loan and they wouldn’t even look at me. But I was stubborn.” 

Genereux says

She also had supportive family and friends. One pal gave her a personal loan of $17,000, which she used to buy chairs, bar supplies, and other essentials. Her son Thomas was an electrician and all-around handyman; he helped her with that end of the project. She went to garage sales and thrift stores, found part of a bar at the old Transit Hotel. Most importantly, she sent out word to the community that she already had around her.

“I had 100 people show up on the first day and I made $1,500,” she recalls. “It just grew from there.”

Riding the crest of chaos seems to have been Genereux’s modus operandi from a very young age.  

Born in Saskatchewan in 1951, Genereux moved around the country with her family until finally settling in Edmonton in 1961. By the time she graduated in 1969, she was already steeped in the burgeoning counterculture. And if you were part of the counterculture, you likely wanted to go to ground zero. 

That was San Francisco. So Genereux hitchhiked down with her friend Sharon, looking for a little of the peace and love vibes suffusing the city during that period. The adventure included seeing the Jefferson Airplane at the Fillmore and meeting up with kindred spirits, but it also held a few dangers, like getting trafficked.

“We were picked up by this guy from Alaska in his Lincoln, and he had two other hitchhikers in the back seat,” she recalls. “He promised us a free airplane ride home. He bought us all lunch. It was really nice. But then, just before we got to the San Francisco airport, he changed his mind. Kicked out the people in the back seat, and then aggressively came on to me and Sharon.”

Genereux pulled a pocketknife for protection and the driver eventually apologized, offering them their own hotel room with their own key. Short on funds the girls took up the offer, but remained wary of his intentions. As it turned out, he had his own key to the room and was watching them from a closet. After alerting staff, who had him thrown out, the two 17-year-olds took stock of their situation.

“I think he intended to make us hookers. It was really close. We went home soon after.” 

Genereux says

One of the reasons why she took the trip down was to look at the possibility of art school in San Francisco. As this was no longer in the cards, she instead got a job at the Sands Hotel as a cocktail waitress. She kept up with art on the side, taking a sign writing course at NAIT, as well as a few different classes at schools in Chicago and Los Angeles when she could get the time. Genereux opened a “wearable art” store in Edmonton in the ’80s, stepping away from the booze business for five years. When she went back, it was to manage the bar for the Edmonton branch of the International Order of Old Bastards, an organization started by former Second World War prisoners of war. Her art career went to the sideline, but it remained active.

 In the ’90s her agent set her up with a proposition to paint notable players and management of the Edmonton Oilers: Gretzky, Sather, Muckler, as well as legends like Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe. It was highly successful, but Genereux had signed a bad contract and saw little of the cash. Still, it looked good in the portfolio. 

She set up tents during Artwalk and The Fringe, where she sold paintings based on what she describes as her ongoing interests: music, culture, religion. Movie stars like Marilyn Monroe, pop stars like Elvis, The Beatles, Mick Jagger of The Stones. Up for anything, she painted someone’s tooth, trucks, churches, and bodies for fashion shows. 

Which brings us back to A Boutique Gallery and Bar by Gracie Jane, where she combined the twin occupations of her life, along with a commitment to community. 

“It’s the people that make it,” she says. “It’s a walk of life from 18 to 94. I have a 94-year-old man who comes every Friday night at 7:30 with his grandson, sings two Frank Sinatra songs, buys a round for all the regulars, and then goes home. It’s just wonderful. I get to know every person that comes in my bar. They’re not a number, they’re people with a story.” 

Some of them end up being painted by Genereux, some of them, like former St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron, end up being painted on a chair. Now, according to Genereux, new mayor Scott Olivieri wants his own as well, though it’s possible he’ll be among the last to get one done. After all these years, Genereux is thinking of retiring.

“I’m going to have to sell the bar. It has to be to someone who will keep it the way it is, and who loves art, community, and music.”

she sighs, noting that health issues are making the job harder.

She’s not stepping away from art, however. Genereux promises to continue painting, and if she finds the right person to take on her place she might just make an appearance every now and again.

“I can still bartend now and again,” she says. “It would be cool to be a guest bartender on Friday nights, and maybe sit there and paint. That would be fun and a lot less stress.”