This Famous Fondue Restaurant Used to Be a Swinger’s Club

Where disco, dancing, and cheese go hand in hand.

At first glance, I thought I’d entered a swinger’s nightclub in Switzerland or a quirky museum about the 1970s, both of which aren’t completely off-base. To my left, an old massage chair offered three minutes for $1, a solid deal. Above a bearskin rug, old photographs of partying patrons and a vintage vinyl entitled “Songs for Swinging Mothers” adorned the walls.  A racy Toblerone ad hung on the wood paneling. I paused for a chuckle at the retro poster advertising “The Lover’s Dinner” before approaching a wide-eyed, hand-carved, wooden grizzly bear perched atop the hostess stand. Despite the suggestive décor, I was only there for lunch.

The Grizzly House is a Banff institution. Tucked into the mountain town’s main drag, the landmark A-frame style entrance feels like you’re entering a rustic mountain cabin. A consistent buzz wafts over the perpetually packed patio, where diners dip fondue and gaze at the resident Rocky Mountain giants. But, as I discovered, the eclectic scenery inside was just as, if not more, entertaining. It’s the type of place where even the tiniest of details are loaded with juicy backstories.

My friend and I had spent a full morning exploring some of Banff National Park’s incredible beauty on foot, and we were famished. Given my obsession with cheese and unique dining experiences, Grizzly House fit the bill nicely. Our table in the back had hand-drawn placemats and everything needed for fondue-ing. But more surprisingly, stationed at most tables was a landline telephone. I’d heard musings of the establishment’s rumored past as Western Canada’s first disco, but needed to know more. Luckily, at that precise moment, owner Francis Hopkins saddled up to our table to spill the tea.

1. A bargain for a three-minute massage.Courtesy of Lauren Breedlove; 2. Bear décor in the Grizzy House.Courtesy of Lauren Breedlove

I held off on my burning questions long enough to place our lunch orders and get a quick rundown of the restaurant’s history. First things first, the name.

“It was named Grizzly after the most ‘iconic’ animal in the park, and named ‘House’ as in ‘Haus,’ keeping with the Swiss tradition,” Hopkins explained. The son-in-law of original owners and local legends, Peter and Barbara Steiner, Hopkins told us that although it’s said the establishment had opened in 1967, that date is slightly off. “When Peter passed, we went back through the original paperwork and found that Grizzly House had actually opened in 1968. Initially, this building was a bus garage for Rocky Mountain Tourism Transport, before Banff was really developed,” Hopkins said.

That’s just one of many lives that Grizzly’s has lived over the last 57 years. Francis spoke about its evolution from a bus garage turned coffee shop to the successful fondue restaurant it is today. “They couldn’t have alcohol at the beginning due to strict liquor laws, but as those restrictions started to loosen up, this turned into the main nightclub in town; it was the place to have fun for locals,” Hopkins said. He further explained that as the ski industry started picking up in the 1970s and ‘80s, it became a hotspot for locals and tourists alike.

A parade of dishes arrived, as did instructions for cooking it over the hot rock. We had gone with the interactive “Sea and Land” hot rock lunch with sirloin, prawns, scallops, and lobster that we could grill to our liking. A plate with fresh salad, crisply fried rösti (Swiss fried potatoes), and two ridiculously tasty dipping sauces completed round one. Since you can’t go to The Grizzly House and not order the classic cheese fondue, that would follow.  

“To have any alcohol, you had to order food,” Francis continued. “You also had to have a seat at a table as per the liquor laws. That’s part of the reason why we have the phones [for meeting people]. This freed you up to go to the dance floor, with a place to leave your food and drink at the table just in case the liquor inspector came,” he shared.

But how do you serve food when you’re a nightclub with no real kitchen? Team up with the Chinese restaurant next door and deliver food through their communal wall, of course. But when that restaurant burned down around 1973, Peter had to pivot again to keep their coveted liquor license and meet the culinary requirement. So, he did what any smart Swiss person would do: he and his friends brought their fondue pots from home. “Being Swiss, they all knew how to do it well, so it seemed like an easy option,” Hopkins shared.

As if on cue, our fondue appeared. A red pot with melty Swiss Gruyere and Emmenthal imported from Lucerne, Switzerland, graced our table, along with a basket of cubed bread—the classic (and my favorite) cheese vehicle.

“The dinner we’re famous for is the four-course meal: a salad or soup, fondue cheese or vegetable, and then main course where you cook your meats at the table and have different sauce plates for dipping. And then a melted chocolate dessert. You can choose all sorts of meats and seafood and mix and match and share,” Hopkins said.

In between stuffing my face with cheese, I not-so-casually brought up the juicy history of Grizzly’s by flat-out asking if it was an old swinger’s club.

“My father-in-law and his girlfriend(s) called themselves ‘moderately successful swingers,’ so that’s part of the reason we have that reputation. While only some of those landline phones still work, they were put in for the purpose of meeting other patrons that you fancied from afar, asking to buy someone a drink or dance with you, or join you in the hot tub later on. Our tagline, ‘for hedonists and lovers’ says it all,” Hopkins shared candidly. “So, anything goes. We are not and never have been judgmental. Come on in, have fun, relax, and enjoy food, drink, and the pleasures of life—that’s how we’ve always been.”

You wouldn’t pin a fondue restaurant that used to be a swinger’s club and disco as a family establishment, but that’s precisely what Grizzly’s is. “It’s still a family business, when my kids are not at university they’re here working during the summers. We have a cool family feel; it’s a simple mom-and-pop operation,” Hopkins shared.

1. Vintage vinyl.Courtesy of Lauren Breedlove; 2. Grizzly House’s famous fondue.Courtesy of Lauren Breedlove

While the disco and go-go dancer era may have come and gone, that doesn’t mean Grizzly’s heritage is forgotten. The eccentric decor is a nod to just that. Francis told me a little about the many wood carvings. “They were done to pay rent, carved by an artist who lived in Peter’s basement apartment in the late ‘60s. They’re funky and were hewn from local trees; they’re some of our most notable decorations.” 

I inquired about one of the most unique pieces, suspended from the ceiling just behind our table. “That’s the ‘66 Triumph chopper motorcycle. It belonged to my wife Brigitte’s boyfriend during her early years on the dating scene. Peter offered to buy it off of him for a high price on the condition that he leave town,” Hopkins laughed.

In addition to the decor, the disco era is resurrected every year with their signature New Year’s Eve Disco Party. “Most years we clear the tables off of the original dance floor and fire up the original DJ booth. It is a time when everyone celebrates the groove and the company. This year we have an acoustic act who will play some hits and get the crowd excited.”

Being a previous swinger’s club isn’t the only “wild” claim to fame for Grizzly’s. “My father-in-law was an early adopter of local meats like buffalo, elk, and venison. That kind of stuff has been on the menu since the late ‘70s when that was sort of unheard of. We’ve kept that going and it’s a great local taste feature. It’s not exactly traditional Swiss fondue as you can probably tell. It’s adapted for the environment here,” Hopkins shared.

We hadn’t been adventurous enough to order the exotic meat fondue, which features game like alligator, rattlesnake, ostrich, and more. But it’s an option, for interested, daring diners–and dancers, of course.