Station 10 (Montreal)

2. Before Station 10

The history of 2071 Sainte-Catherine West predates Station 10. A Quebec liquor-board notice identifies Georges Decaqueray at this address in connection with a Dining-Room Bar permit transferred from Clément Archambault. The document demonstrates that a licensed establishment already occupied the premises before Barclay Allan’s arrival. ^[5]

Some retrospective sources identify the preceding establishment as Le Bistro and date its transformation into Station 10 to late 1974. At this stage of the research, however, none of the liquor-permit notices located so far directly names Le Bistro. It is therefore important to distinguish this secondary-source tradition from facts established by contemporary documents.

3. Barclay Allan and the early years

Another liquor-permit notice directly links Barclay Allen — the spelling used in the document — to 2071 Sainte-Catherine Street West. The requested category is Dining-room-Bar-Cabaret, and the notice states that the application follows a sale. This source therefore confirms a direct connection between Barclay Allen/Allan and a bar-cabaret establishment at this address. ^[5]

Retrospective sources date the adoption of the name Station 10 to late 1974 and associate the change with Barclay Allan, a former football player. Because the date is not visible on the permit notice located so far, this chronology remains plausible but cannot yet be established to the exact day.

Station 10’s presence is, however, firmly documented by the early 1980s. An advertisement in The Link dated March 13, 1981 lists Bruce Mann at Station 10, 2071 St. Catherine W.; another November 1981 advertisement confirms the same address. A poster preserved by MCPA also documents SID SERIOUS, 222’S and BLUE PRINTZ in 1981. ^{[4], [7]}

4. The Casey Faria era

The central figure in Station 10’s modern history is Casey Faria. Two Gazette articles place the beginning of his association with the venue at approximately 1981. In late 1990, Mark Lepage wrote that Faria had been at Station 10 for nine years; at the time of the 1994 closure, another column referred to thirteen years under his direction. Both references point to the beginning of the 1980s. ^{[1], [6]}

Faria was not an absentee owner. Newspaper articles show him behind the bar, involved in booking, organizing contests and themed nights, and championing the local scene. This hands-on presence helped give Station 10 the personality of a scene-oriented club rather than simply a nightlife business.

In September 1992, the Westmount Examiner still described him as Station 10’s owner and noted that he continued to present new bands there. The same article announced his reopening of Bar Le Legend in Delson, showing that Station 10 remained his rock-oriented Montreal base despite his other projects. ^[8]

5. An incubator for Montreal bands

Station 10’s most important function was as a stepping stone. When Faria opened the Terminal in late 1990, he explained that the two venues would not serve the same purpose. Station 10 would remain the small club where young bands faced their first performances, while the Terminal would represent the next step for acts ready to play before a larger audience. ^[6]

This informal hierarchy is particularly revealing of how the local scene worked. Before playing a major venue, a band needed places where it could learn to command a stage, attract its first audiences and convince promoters. Station 10 occupied precisely that first level.

The club’s closure was therefore presented in the press not merely as the loss of a bar, but as the disappearance of a development space for Montreal’s emerging musicians. ^[3]

6. Eclectic programming

Although Station 10 was primarily associated with rock, punk and alternative music, its programming was broader. The archives document local rock bands, blues, R&B, reggae, Irish rock and various themed events. Artists documented at the venue include RAY CONDO AND HIS HARDROCK GONERS, BOKOMARU, THIS BLUE PIANO, JAH CUTTA AND DETERMINATION and CAPTAIN JOHN AND THE BLUE SHARKS. ^[9]

The club also hosted much less conventional events. Casey Faria regularly organized Elvis impersonator nights, Guitar Warz competitions and free B-movie screenings during happy hour. This playful dimension distinguished Station 10 from a venue devoted exclusively to concerts. ^[10]

7. Station 10 and the Terminal

In December 1990, Casey Faria and Larry Vitas opened the Terminal Showbar at 1635 Sainte-Catherine Street West. The new establishment was conceived as a more ambitious venue, with a capacity of 250 announced in the opening article and approximately $75,000 invested in renovations. ^[6]

The Terminal was not intended to replace Station 10. On the contrary, Faria described the two venues as links in the same ladder: Station 10 for beginners, Terminal as the next step. This complementary relationship explains why Faria continued to operate both establishments simultaneously.

The Terminal experiment lasted about eighteen months. In 1992, the press reported that the venue had closed amid neighbourhood noise complaints and problems involving the municipal permit required for loud live music. One article also noted that the Terminal’s deficits had begun draining resources from Station 10, described as smaller but more profitable. ^[11]

8. 1992–1993 renovations

The Terminal’s closure did not mean that Faria had abandoned his ambitions for Station 10. On the contrary, a Mark Lepage column published in The Gazette on January 28, 1993 reported that the club had recently been remodelled. The work had expanded the floor space and improved the acoustics, resulting, in the journalist’s words, in “a better Station 10.” ^[12]

This is significant because it shows that Station 10 was not merely limping toward its eventual closure. Less than two years before the end, Faria was still investing in improvements to the room and the live-show experience.

Montreal’s club environment nevertheless remained fragile in 1993. The same article emphasized how difficult it was for bands performing original material to find places to play. In that context, the continued existence of a small venue such as Station 10 was particularly important.

9. September 1994: the end of the line

In September 1994, Station 10’s run came to an abrupt end. A contemporary article reported that the establishment had been padlocked by the building’s owners after Casey Faria failed to reopen the bar following a Friday-night show. Landlord Peter Sergakis, president of Sergakis Holdings, stated that he had been Station 10’s landlord for fourteen years and that one month of $4,000 rent was outstanding, while insisting that the late payment was not the reason for the padlocking. ^[3]

A column published shortly afterward stated that Faria officially ended Station 10 on September 19, after roughly thirteen years. He described himself as exhausted by the situation, pointed to the declining neighbourhood and shrinking crowds, and declared the company bankrupt. ^[2]

Retrospective sources place the final concert on Friday, September 16, 1994. The contemporary articles located so far confirm that a show took place on the Friday preceding the padlocking, but the precise identity of the final act still requires primary-source confirmation.

10. After Station 10

The club’s closure did not end Casey Faria’s career in Montreal bars. A column published after Station 10 disappeared identifies him as manager and booker at PJ’s Pub on the Saint-Jacques motel strip. Its musical policy was different, however: more R&B and Top 40 and much less oriented toward heavy underground music. ^[13]

A few years later, around the end of the 1990s, Faria was also identified as manager of McKibbin’s Irish Pub on Bishop Street. His post-1994 career shows that he remained active in bar management, but Station 10 remains the establishment most closely associated with his role in promoting emerging local rock bands. ^[14]

11. Historical significance

Station 10 was never a monumental venue. Its historical value lies precisely in its scale. It represented an accessible, imperfect, lively and necessary space where musicians could learn how to perform before attempting to move on to larger rooms.

Its programming also reflects an important part of Montreal’s musical culture during the 1980s and 1990s: punk, alternative rock, blues, reggae, local groups, touring artists and deliberately offbeat events coexisted under one roof. This diversity prevents the venue from being reduced to a single label.

Finally, its history documents the structural difficulties small venues have long faced: rent, recession, permits, neighbourhood complaints, narrow profit margins and the constant need to renew an audience. Station 10’s disappearance in 1994 therefore represents both the end of a bar and the loss of an essential link in the local musical ecosystem.