With 36 years in business behind it, Amigos Cantina on Dufferin and 10th Street just off Broadway had a big year in 2024. Accolades poured in. Amigos won the 2024 Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA) Kevin Walters Industry Builder Award, presented at the BreakOut West Music Festival in September. Immediately thereafter, in early October, Amigos was also added to the Greg Botting Walk of Stars, which honours longstanding Broadway businesses.

The restaurant and music venue was also voted best Broadway pub in Planet S’s annual Best of Saskatoon survey, released in mid-December, as well as second-best music venue after The Bassment. Having blown by 36 years in business and set to celebrate its 37th anniversary this year, Amigos has become something of an institution for music lovers, Tex-Mex foodies and Broadway denizens. Opened in 1988, its current owners are Steve Benesh, Alex Clendening and Jim Clarke, who also serves as the venue’s manager. Egan Bauer was also one of the original owners. It was quite the year, Clarke said in an interview, adding that entertainment booker and community liaison Brant Palko is also critical to Amigos’ success. “We’re blown away,” he said, noting that Amigos has made Planet S lists several times in the past, in other categories. “But to kind of have all that recognition in the same year is quite exciting.” Last year, he added, Mint Records from Vancouver was awarded the WCMA Builder Award. Mint has a reputation as an independent recording trailblazer, and Amigos was delighted to be in the same company.

“I think it had to do a lot with the fact Saskatoon was hosting the BreakOut West conference. But that was quite unexpected and quite an honour.” Asked why Amigos continues to thrive, Clarke said he thought two of the reasons were longevity and familiarity. “We hope we can create a place that’s comfortable, where people don’t feel they have to act any differently or dress up. There’s a lot of comfort in familiarity. You know what to expect.” Then he added, “I’m a little bit blown away by it too.”

Stability in the menu may also have something to do with it. “We change our soups and our specials here and there, but our menu has been (largely) the same for 30 years. People come and always say, I’ve never had anything else but my chimichanga or whatever. It just really worked out well for us.”

On the music side, Amigos has hosted many bands over the years, ranging from local acts like The Sheepdogs to San Diego’s The Beat Farmers, a band from the ’80s and ’90s that grew a large cult following. “The Beat Farmers was very special to us,” Clarke said, adding, “we were expecting kind of a crazy show” the first time they came to Saskatoon. “We were sold out. It was one of our first big acts. From my point of view, it felt kind of electric. They were seasoned musicians and knew what they were doing. They were super nice guys and fun.” It was also pretty wild. During the show, the late lead singer Country Dick Montana’s head made contact with a ceiling fan. Yes, he was walking on the tables. No, he didn’t stop performing. He called for a tequila and finished the show, but was taken to the hospital afterward. “That was one of the ones that stuck out, and still does. “We’ve had so many awesome bands, and bands that played for their first times in Saskatoon and went on to bigger and better things. We had Sloan here a year and a half ago, and I saw them again this summer at the Exhibition. Canadian rock legends, those guys.”

The venue has also hosted many community events, poetry readings and celebrations of life. “I think people look at it as a place where they can have an event. We’re more than happy to do that,” Clarke said. “I think that’s another thing that gave us some recognition when it came to the BreakOut West award. It’s a challenge to put on even a celebration of life or a poetry reading, so if we can make it a little bit easier, and we have the space, we’re more than thrilled to do something like that. “We started doing that early on and it continued.”

Amigos patron Shelagh McDonald, who is involved in Saskatoon’s arts community, said she discovered Amigos long ago after meeting singer Vesti Hanson on Broadway one day. The university student haunt, Food For Thought, had closed, and many “crestfallen” people from that community were seeking a new “home.” Hanson said she really liked Amigos, which had the same vibe as Food For Thought, McDonald recalled in an interview. “As soon as I walked in, I realized why she felt that way. And it kept me there. “For me largely, you would meet your friends there, it was the neighbourhood bar, and it appealed to everyone. “You struck up these friendships with all sorts of people who would never have met if Amigos had not been the venue.” The two things most important to McDonald are “intelligence and humour, and the staff they have manifest that in spades. The servers are all incredibly smart and funny.” Amigos also reminds McDonald of the artists’ haunts in New York; it’s a place where you will see people who are “vibrant parts” of the community. “To me, it’s become the unofficial headquarters for all these non-profits. I have friends who are on these various boards. I’m on the board of Word on the Street, and that’s where we meet. “They are always accommodating. It’s become this kind of hub for people in the arts world to conduct their daily business.”

Over the years, Clarke said, “it’s been a wonderful experience for us to meet so many people from so many walks of life. We’re so happy we’ve had a chance to meet these people, and generations of these people. “It’s quite something.”

– Joanne Paulson