FOG BLOG SAINT JOHN NEWS LOG: POPULAR HAUNT, 3 MILE REDUCED TO RUBBLE!

Popular Saint John tavern reduced to rubble as former patrons share memories New owners of site claim 'aggressive plan to develop Popeyes throughout Atlantic Canada' It's the end of an era in Saint John as the 3Mile tavern was torn down on Tuesday.

Several former patrons and employees watched as heavy machinery reduced the once-popular venue to a pile of crumpled building material.

Like many others in the city, longtime 3Mile DJ Michael McEachern met his wife there many years ago. He brought his son to the site in east Saint John on Tuesday to watch the building be torn down.

"If it wasn't for that place, you wouldn't exist," he told the boy.

McEachern said it was a sad day.

"It's like losing an old friend because, I mean, that was my friend. This is where all my friends were. And I met my wife here and everybody that I hang out with now." After being the DJ there for 20 years and attending social events there when he wasn't working, he said there are "so many memories in this building. It's just sad to see it go."

Former manager Malcolm Beals met his wife, April, at the 3Mile in 1994. And his 50th birthday celebration at the bar may have been one of the last events before it closed in January 2019, after 41 years in business.

Growing up in Glen Falls, Beals said the 3Mile has always been a part of his life. He even trick-or-treated there as a child with his friends.

"I had to come see the end, I guess," said Beals, sitting with his wife in his truck in the parking lot, reminiscing about the old days.

Property sold last year

Former owner Peter Bardsley also visited the site on Tuesday to see the demolition himself. Unlike many who visited the site, Bardsley said he wasn't sad about the building being torn down.

"It was time to move on," he said. "Everything moves on, and buildings only have a certain life span. So it's the next step in the property."

According to records from the province, Bardsley sold the 3Mile property last summer to a Halifax-based company that has subsequently changed its name to Keel Property Holdings Ltd.