Local Love Blog Series – The Rose & Crown Canmore

Welcome back to the Local Love Blog Series!

This week I’m excited to feature Lisa Schaetzle, Managing Partner at The Rose & Crown Canmore – a true local institution! 

The Rose & Crown is a locally run pub, fueled by a love for the hospitality industry. Depending largely on local customers, especially during the slow season, the Rose is heavily based on local needs and demands. 

The Rose ensures that they base their feature menu items and choice of events on what locals prefer. Their large space, especially during the summer months when their patio is open, sets them aside from many other establishments in town. 

The hospitality industry can be a really tough one, but Lisa gets lots of support from her friends. 

When the industry seems overly demanding and even unforgiving, Lisa turns to her friends who have supported her throughout it all. Equally as important is the support she receives and the inspiration she takes from her parents. Lisa’s father, Rolf Wollmann, is a crucial element to the success of the Rose & Crown, and Lisa aspired to follow his lead in his hard work and dedication. Her mother, Andrea Schaetzle, is Lisa’s guiding light through everything in life and inspires her to be strong and independent.  

In 2017, Lisa and a group of locals and bartenders couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take over The Rose & Crown Canmore. 

The Rose Canmore now has two other operating owners/General Managers, Rob Filby, and Eric Limoges. Although the Rose was established well before they took over, Lisa, Rob, and Eric were ready for a change and willing to put in the hard work of owning and operating a local pub, with the help of a number of investors, friends, and their community. For Lisa, her personal inspiration is drawn from watching other business owners work tirelessly to make their vision a reality. Now her favourite part of The Rose is the familiarity. Everyone knows each other’s names, and the atmosphere immediately makes you feel at home. 

As someone so engrained in the Bow Valley community, it’s no surprise that Lisa had plenty of local shout-outs! 

Lisa first wanted to give some love to photographer Brandon T. Brown, musician Logan Thackray, and the amazing bakers creating delicious treats from Le Fournil. She also wanted to shout out some amazing independently run businesses that have some hard-working and dedicated owners including Rocket Pie, 4296, and Crockadoodle Canmore. Lastly, Lisa definitely wanted to shout out all of the other restaurants in the Bow Valley who help each other out in so many ways, from lending products when someone has run out or helping with installations and fixes here and there. There’s a great network of local businesses that work together and create an amazing community. 

The Rose, like so many others, has struggled with staffing, regulation changes, closure obligations, supply shortages, and so much more. However, the constant support of locals and staff has made all the difference. Through this journey of restaurant ownership, Lisa has learned the hard lesson of not taking things too personally, despite it being hard not to take every criticism to heart it’s also such an important part of the gig. She also can’t thank enough the amazing staff at the Rose, both front and back of house, that keep the place going and are such a huge part of their success.

She also wishes for people to be more understanding as a result of everything that has happened in the past couple of years, especially in our small hospitality-based town. Restaurants all over have struggled with staffing issues, menu limitations as a result of food shortages, and constant regulation changes so a little compassion and understanding goes a long way you choose to dine out these days – and dine out you should! It’s the perfect way to get back to a feeling of semi-normal and a great way to support your local pub! 

Next time you’re looking for a spot to relax and grab some grub, make sure to head over to The Rose & Crown Canmore and say hi to Lisa! In the meantime, make sure to follow them on Instagram and Facebook for all the latest feature menu items and event updates! 

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