Following years of renovations and delays, there is new life in The Albion building in Downtown Guelph, with more on the way.
The top floor of the designated heritage structure at 49 Norfolk St. – on the northeast corner of Norfolk and Macdonell streets – has been rented out and the owner, Thomas Gofton, plans to bring part of his board game-based business, The Round Table, to the middle level, with a 1920s-style speakeasy on the ground floor.
“It’s been hard, but I’m getting there,” he said of the project as a whole. “It's been a heck of a long road since I acquired the building back in 2020.”
The plan, Gofton explained, is to move the retail space and back dining area from The Round Table on Essex Street to The Albion building.
“It’ll have its own offers, so it’ll be different. We’ll have lunch and stuff there eventually,” he explained. “The goal is not to become another nerdy bar … but to make it a more approachable bar.
“Whereas The Round Table on Essex Street is extremely esoteric – it’s like King Arthur’s castle and people love it … it’s not exactly the first place that everybody who is not remotely into gaming will go. So the second floor (at The Albion) is going to be more of an approachable place where people can come.”
Part of the level will be home to retail, while the other part will be for public use and event space, including a stage, where people can get lighter fare foods, cocktails and coffee.
“I have no desire to bring another night club into downtown,” Gofton stressed.
The main operation of The Round Table provides a positive atmosphere and is profitable, so it doesn’t make sense to uproot it all at this time, Gofton noted.
He declined to publicly discuss a timeline for completing work on the building and/or when part of The Round Table will be relocated to The Albion building, noting that when he’s offered such information in the past, something has always come up that pushes it back.
However, he noted the biggest obstacle for the move at this point is to secure a retail licence and final inspection approval of the second floor from the city.
Council formally designated the building as a heritage structure under the Ontario Heritage Act in September, with no objection from Gofton. A motion expressing council’s intent was approved in June.
“The place was in such bad shape before that a match in the wrong area would set the place ablaze,” said Gofton, who noted much of the renovation and restoration work was completed prior to designation.
“I have no desire to see that building crumbled for a highrise,” he added, noting that with heritage designation now in place, that won’t happen. “I didn’t buy the building because I’m trying to do some sort of business model – there’s a thousand things I could have done to make money in this town other than creating a community nerd spot and now trying to preserve a building.”
