The Electric Banana cast the spotlight onto itself when they incorporated a fake confessional into the club, featuring a man in a monkey suit and priest’s collar who would forgive the sins of the nightclub goers. The most lurid confessions were eligible for prizes. The publicity stunt caused outrage among some of Edmonton’s religious communities. Later, after another rebrand, Reflexions was shut down by the Alberta Liquor Control Board in December of 1988 for failure to provide food service along with liquor sales.

Things changed in 1989, for the worse, when new owner Carman Ahmed took over ownership of the building. He reopened it as Sax on Fifth and advertised how the new club was proudly NOT gay. “Before, it was owned by gays and run by gays. I’m giving notice this is going to be a straight restaurant,” Ahmed proclaimed, prompting some of the remaining gay staff to give notice and quit. Ahmed went further, stating that although gays were welcome, they must abide by his rules, including no kissing or dancing together. When word quickly reached local gay activists such as Wayne Hellard and GALA’s Tom Edge, they called for an immediate community boycott.

Ahmed’s problematic behaviour underscored a more significant issue in Alberta at the time. Gays and lesbians had no legal recourse against discrimination, as sexual orientation was not included in the province’s Individual’s Rights Protection Act. Tom Edge publicly compared Ahmed’s actions to anti-Semitism, which would have been prohibited under the law. Stan Scudder, then Chairman of Alberta’s Human Rights Commission, affirmed Ahmed’s actions were indeed discriminatory but stated the Commission was helpless to act, suggesting “the gay community [will] have to press your case with the government if you want an amendment to the legislation.”

Shortly after Sax opened, an incident inside the club turned violent. Ahmed claimed three men assaulted him after he told a group they couldn’t dance in the establishment anymore. He expressed concerns the attack would lead him to contract AIDS. Despite the building featuring a dance earlier in the year as part of Edmonton’s AIDS Awareness Week, it was unclear whether the fundraiser was held there under Ahmed’s ownership. Wayne Hellard worried the incident would lead to further attacks against Edmonton’s gay and lesbian community. The LGBTQ2 community responded with a protest outside the business the day after the alleged assault. Michael Phair recalls the speed with which the protest was mobilized, and even though it was only around twenty people, the small protest attracted the attention of local media. The issue of gay rights was already in the news, with Edmonton City Council’s recent rejection of another attempt by GALA to have Gay and Lesbian Awareness Day proclaimed.

Following the community protests, Sax on Fifth’s days were numbered. Sax was repeatedly plagued by other troubles, including issues with the police in the weeks and months that followed.

With Sax now closed, the building would eventually become queer again, but not without a different kind of legal issue. In 1993, Tony C’s opened on the ground floor of Capital Place (9707 110 Street), but the success of their grand opening was short-lived. Owner Tony Calara found himself locked out of his new business after just two days in operation. This wasn’t the first time that a landlord had locked out an Edmonton gay bar, of course; the very first gay bar, Club 70, had gone through the exact situation a quarter of a century earlier. Capital Place owners, Triple Five Corporation, cited numerous so-called violations of the lease agreement, claiming their decision to lock out Tony had nothing to do with gay rights. Other tenants in the building made anti-gay arguments, though. In the court’s legal decision, Justice David McDonald stated, “Lesbians and gay men should not be considered lawbreakers just because of their sexual orientation.”

Although Tony eventually won his legal dispute against Triple Five, the business relationship was destroyed. Tony searched for a new location for his gay club and found it on 105 Street. In this new location, Tony C’s was renamed “The Option Room” and (re)opened to great success. At the time, The Roost was the only nightclub specifically catering to Edmonton’s LGBTQ2 community. Bar manager Carl Austin recalls how The Option Room's opening severely impacted The Roost’s business, stating that gays were seemingly always attracted to new things. The Roost only managed to survive due to the loyalty of its lesbian customers. However, even The Option Room tried to win over the lesbian crowd by inviting Womonspace to host events, ranging from pool tournaments to live music nights. For a fleeting time, The Option Room was a smashing success.

The Option Room was also an early performance space for Edmonton’s Village People Revue. The troupe began in 1994 as part of the build-up to the Coronation Ball of the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose (ISCWR). Their July debut was only the beginning; they would go on to perform in venues across Canada as part of the ISCWR and in support of other fundraising causes. The troupe would also perform at Edmonton’s Pride festivities in 2007 and 2009 and would later partner with Womonspace for an all-lesbian version of their Village People ensemble in 2013.

No matter the iteration, nothing seemed to last for long in the 105 Street location. After The Option Room closed, Vicious Pink opened and began advertising itself as a gothic club with the best in rave, underground, and alternative music . Vicious Pink faced the same 105 street curse and soon gave way to the even shorter-lived bar called, “Choices”. Vicious Pink was one of the few places in Edmonton that booked live electronic acts and played host to shows by LGBTQ2 community groups like the ISCWR. Whether it was something about the building itself, the competition (Edmonton had four other gay bars at the time these all tried to open), or some other factor that led to so many venues opening and closing at this location is unknown.

Perhaps it was the storied queer history of the building that led JR White, the current owner of Shade, to incorporate a drag element into the launch of ladies' night featuring the “Men of Maximum Exposure”. Male strip clubs with private lap dance rooms were unheard of in Western Canada at the time. Local queens Miss Bianca and Krystall Ball often performed before the all-male revue took to the stage. Sadly, the drag performances had only a short, but entertaining run.

While none of the venues associated with the 105 street building ever rose to the legendary status of long-running queer bars like Flashback or The Roost, their short-lived contributions to Edmonton LGBTQ2 nightlife remain an important part of our community’s history. Moreover, the media attention garnered by the events at Tony C’s and Sax on Fifth helped demonstrate just how important it was for sexual orientation to be included as a protected ground against discrimination in Alberta’s human rights legislation.