Canadian Olympic fans have taken over this Milan bar and made it their own
I walk into a pub in the Navigli neighbourhood of Milan and see the bartender is wearing a Team Canada hockey jersey and a Montreal Expos hat.
His name is Frank and he has never been to Canada before.
Before I introduce myself, he looks in my direction and asks with an Italian accent: “What time is the hockey game on?”
That’s because this pub is full of Canadians, who have taken it over, and Frank needs to keep his patrons happy.
The most Canadian bar in all of Milan (Mathias Blundon/Submitted)
Blues Canal is a sportsbar in Milan, but for the duration of the Winter Olympics, it might as well be in Moose Jaw.
There isn’t an official “Canada House” for fans to congregate during these Olympics, so Kelowna’s Jeremy Cummins took matters into his own hands.
“We just wanted to find a cool place to watch [Team Canada compete at the Olympics],” Jeremy explained.
Mission accomplished.
It’s the best place to see Canada compete in Milan outside of official venues.
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It all began with a Whatsapp group, which had less than 50 people in it two weeks ago. Jeremy thought that maybe they could fill half the bar.
The group has since ballooned to over 600 enthusiastic Canadians, and the bar is at capacity every night.
“The pub’s been great. Full of Canadians all hours of the day since opening until closing,” Frank says. “I think you guys want a spot like that. We just open our door, that’s it.”
Frank and his sister Ilenia co-manage Blues Canal, and are both decked out in Canadian merch that was given to them.
Frank and Ilenia, a brother-sister duo that co-manage Blues Canal, have embraced Canadian Olympic fans (Rob Williams/Daily Hive)
“We arrived with gifts,” said Valya Roberts, an Olympic volunteer visiting from Hamilton, who helped create this slice of Canadiana in Italy. “We had hats, we had toques for the staff… So we all brought lots of gifts and stuff for the staff to keep them happy, so they would know how nice the Canadians are.”
Valya also helped redecorate the pub.
“I cannot describe how happy I am that a lot of people brought me a lot of gifts from Canada,” said Frank, who is obviously a big fan of Canada now. “I received pins, jersey, hats, food — the chocolate is amazing!”
Travelling to Canada is now on Frank’s to-do list, he says.
The bar has also attracted Canadian Olympic royalty.
“On the plane ride over, we saw Scott Moir,” Valya said. Naturally, she invited him to Blues Canal.
He showed up on Opening Ceremony night.
Scott Moir poses for a photo with some Canadian Olympic fans (Valya Roberts/Submitted)
The Canadian ice-dance duo of Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier were there on Wednesday, after winning bronze medals.
As word continues to spread, Valya expects more athletes will visit when they’re done their competitions.
It just might be hard to get a seat.