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West Kelowna  

Okanagan Beach Club exits tiki bar lease at Lake Okanagan Resort after two years

Tiki bar seeks new operator

Lake Okanagan Resort is going to have to find someone else to throw its beach parties this summer.

Okanagan Beach Club, which had a 10-year lease to operate most of the resort’s amenities, is walking away after just two years.

“We just decided to shut it down,” Okanagan Beach Club co-owner Ryan Hargreaves said Tuesday. “It just wasn’t a good fit anymore.”

Hargreaves and two partners took control of most of the resort's amenities in 2020, with accommodations the notable exception. Okanagan Beach Club’s main attraction was the Tiki & Taco Bar, which proved to be a popular beach spot for the valley’s summer party crowd. Okanagan Beach Club also hosted weddings, operated a bistro and co-ordinated water rentals for guests.

Hargreaves, however, said too many concerns popped up for his business to continue at the resort, which was once a jewel on the shores of Okanagan Lake and is trying to find its way back to that stature.

Okanagan Beach Club officials were not willing to wait for that to happen. Hargreaves cited insurance issues, liability fears and facility problems as the primary reasons for opting out of the lease.

A three- to five-year lease for the tiki bar is currently being offered for $10,000 a month, from May to September, through a Facebook Marketplace listing.



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