When I was a kid the building was red. Around the top roofline was a red neon light that extended the front, side, and part of the back of the building. I could see it from our house on 182 Street at night. A neon beacon showing me where the Clover Inn was and from there I could orient myself for the rest of our small town.
Back in the sixties the Clover Inn was probably the finest eating establishment in Cloverdale. There was a fancy restaurant inside the building and a bar/saloon area. There were two entrances off 57th Avenue. One with a sign that said "Gentlemen" and the other door had a sign that said "Ladies and Escorts". It was the only hotel in Cloverdale at the time and out of town vistors could rent hotel rooms while passing through or staying in the area.
In the eighties the Clover Inn transformed more into a bar but there was a coffee shop restaurant at the front of the building, in the same place where the coffee shop is today. The bar used to serve steak sandwiches at lunchtime in the 80's for $5 and was very popular. They also had a salad bar. It was still a farily decent place to come for a meal but I don't recall nightly hotel guests. Sometime in the 80's the rooms were rented out on a more permanent basis, often to persons in the province's social welfare system due to mental disabilites.
By the 90's the bar had transformed more into a biker's bar. I saw motorbikes parked out there a lot and the Legacy Show Lounge with the exotic dancers (strippers) had their clientele.
In 2009 right around the time of the Cloverdale Rodeo, the Clover Inn gained some unwanted notoriety when Christopher Whitmee was shot to death in the strip club's restroom. Another patron using the restroom was the intended victim of the shooter, and he survived. Whitmee was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and his murder has not been solved.
In January 2012 the Legacy shut down the nude dancing girls after much pressure from the city and other business owners who felt there was no place in Cloverdale suitable for this type of business. The place has remained dark for most of the year until recently there has been a flurry of activity and contractors working on the building.
The Clover Inn sign is gone, the building has been painted black, and the new business is called The Henry. It says its been established since 1978. Not sure where its been established before but not in Cloverdale.
It looks like a nice enough place with the renovations and breakfast specials. Cloverdale has had an influx of bars/sports bars/restaurants in the past few years. Growing trend as the town grows.
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