There’s a new spot on Whyte Avenue for you to get your pizza, craft beer and dancing fix — Rally Social Room. The social room has been two years in the making and opens its doors in the historic post office/clock tower that was once The Billiard Club.
“Rally is all about cool craft beer, pizza, cocktails and ping pong,” says Mike Yasinski, owner of Rally Social Room. “It’s a social gathering spot where the activity of ping pong meets a cool bar setting.”
Yasinski, who has over two decades’ worth of experience in the hospitality industry, underwent extensive market research to see what type of bar was resonating with North Americans and found that activity bars are hot on the market. Rally Social Room is the product of that research and has been in the works since spring 2020, undergoing renovations to transform the historic space. Vibrant murals cover the walls, games line the room and a four-foot disco ball hangs from the clock tower.
Ping pong is the main game at Rally, but there is also shuffleboard and vintage Skee-Ball machines. “We also tipped our hat to The Billiard Club and put a billiard table in there,” says Yasinski.
The menu at Rally Social Room has nine shareables and a selection of New York style pizza that are made in-house with daily-made fresh dough. There are also nine rotating local craft beers on tap, and a craft cocktail list curated by a mixologist from Good Chaps Spirits.
“It’s really not a nightclub, it’s a social room,” says Yasinski. “Though there is dancing on Wednesdays and weekends, it’s really about great eats, great drinks, great games and coming together.”
Join Rally Social Room for its grand opening weekend on April 22 and 23. Doors open at 10 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday. There is no cover charge for opening weekend.
