Delhi Belgian Club

1948 – 2017

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Eateries, gas station planned for former Delhi hall property

Submitted by mnoorenberghe on Mon, 01/31/2022 - 12:00am

Community hall, concert venue being torn down

Monte Sonnenberg, Simcoe Reformer


The former Delhi Belgian Hall on James Street is coming down brick by brick, with the demolition beginning at the rear of the sprawling, 30,000-square-foot property. This view from William Street shows the entrance to the former downstairs lounge known as the Shield and Friends Bar and Games Room. – Monte Sonnenberg
The former Delhi Belgian Hall on James Street is coming down brick by brick, with the demolition beginning at the rear of the sprawling, 30,000-square-foot property. This view from William Street shows the entrance to the former downstairs lounge known as the Shield and Friends Bar and Games Room. – Monte Sonnenberg

DELHI – An iconic piece of Delhi is disappearing from the landscape.

Demolition recently began on the former Delhi Belgian Hall at 360 James Street, which is across the road from Delhi District Secondary School.

The developer in charge of the project – Tal Kang of Brampton – said Monday that the 1.8-acre property will be given over to a Petro-Canada service station, an A&W restaurant and a Pizza Hut.

“We should be open by October of this year,” Kang said in an interview.

The Belgian Hall closed in 2016 due to skyrocketing hydro bills and loss of interest among the hall’s shareholders. The property was sold to an Ontario numbered company in 2018 for an undisclosed sum, with hall officials saying at the time that the structure would be retrofitted for apartment units.

The hall on the upper floor of the building was rated for 640 individuals, making it one of the largest banquet facilities in Norfolk County.

The hall was popular with the younger set in the 1960s and 1970s when it played host to some of the biggest rock-and-roll acts of the time. Big names included Rush, Little Richard, Black Sabbath, Five Man Electrical Band, and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels among others.

A diversity of musical acts graced the hall’s stage after its construction in 1948. Headliners over the years also included Conway Twitty, The Temptations, and polka legends Walter Ostanek and Frankie Yankovic.

The hall did not go quietly prior to its closure.

When the property went on the block, the club executive posted a large sign on James Street saying its hydro bill was $50,000 in 2016, adding “You Wynne, we lose” in reference to then-Premier Kathleen Wynne and her support for green energy policies that put upward pressure on hydro prices province-wide.

https://www.simcoereformer.ca/news/local-news/eateries-gas-station-planned-for-f...