Cobalt Miner’s Tavern

08/18/2026

Davanna’s Birthday Cupcakes
🐉 “Born in the Year of the Dragon”🐉

08/18/2026

I had such an interesting week at the tavern! So many new people coming through those doors! It’s so awesome!

Karaoke was a really great turnout, but I wasn’t really feeling birthday party vibes. Too many sad songs! 😂 But again, a lot of talented singers. Thank you to all of the singers and to the girls who were dancing up a storm for the fun songs and having a blast!
It was awesome to have some of Davanna’s basketball teammates make it out to celebrate with her and hopefully she felt special!

Anthony had to take the girls to their club meeting, so I didn’t have his help and couldn’t finish my cupcakes until later in the night which was a bit of a shame because some people had to leave before.

Here is a picture of Davanna’s “Born in the year of the Dragon” cupcakes.
I did this one for my Dad before, but Davanna is actually a dragon on Zodiac!
When I was starting to make cakes as a hobby, Davanna commissioned me more than anyone else to make her kids’ birthday cakes, so it was nice to be able to do a special one for her birthday!

08/14/2026

Karaoke @ Cobalt Miner’s Tavern tonight!
C’mon out and help us celebrate Davanna’s 50th birthday!

Somebody ask her to sing “Bring Me Back To Life” with you. She loves that song. 😂

Starts on Friday, August 14th @ 9:00 PM!

08/13/2026

Two weeks until Cupid’s Heart arrives at the Cobalt Miner’s Tavern! Save the Date!

All the way from Saskatchewan, but with a Northern Ontario connection! This band is excited to play for you at the Cobalt Miner’s Tavern on Thursday, August 27th.

No cover charge; no tickets required. Just show up and enjoy the show! (Gratuities to help with travel costs would be greatly appreciated!)

“Our band plays alternative rock music, using cello, electric guitar, drums and female vocals to get a sound that people have described as ‘Pretenders vibes with a pinch of Nirvana.’”

We hope to see you there!

08/13/2026

Karaoke @ Cobalt Miner’s Tavern tomorrow!
Friday, August 14th
@ 9:00 PM!

08/09/2026

Thank goodness for all the people who pass through Hwy 11b and find their way into this little tavern.
It would have been pretty dismal business yesterday if it wasn’t for the passersby.

The crazy thing is that two separate groups had been at my tavern last year at different times when I was brand new to the business. I thought I recognized them, and then we confirmed that they had been here before.
They actually kept their promises when they said they’d be back!
One girl spent her birthday at the tavern last year and my daughter had chatted with her and then drew her a birthday card with all of her favourite things. She said she still has it displayed at her home in Saskatchewan!

I had another awesome group of people who were up here exploring. I let them in on our joke promo…..
**Side story** I had some cool people in the tavern once who said they were from out of town and they just loved the place! One guy bought a t-shirt and then everyone else in his group wanted one. One guy bought three t-shirts for his family. He was like, “Can I get a free shot for buying so many t-shirts?”
I said, “I don’t give free shots, but there’s a special promo today: Buy 2 t-shirts, get a free butter tart.”
It’s become a standing joke promo where everyone wins. I sell more t-shirts, we all get a laugh, and they get to enjoy a sweet treat.

Back to my original story- their boss bought t-shirts for everyone; we forged for mint leaves in my planter that my sister made me, to make Moscow Mules; they taught me how to make a delicious shot that tastes just like those Mudshake coolers; I got rave reviews on my lasagna; and we had impromptu karaoke- which I was lucky enough to have one of my talented karaoke kings in house to help keep the queue flowing, since I had no DJ last night.

My girls were at sleepovers, so Anthony stayed with me the entire day which was the first time he has done that since the ol’ Koe’s Garden days when he was visiting me from England and had nowhere else to go! It’s different when he has freewill and still chooses to stay and keep me company!

This week I had a guy from North Carolina, some people from North Bay, St. Catherines, Hamilton, Niagara, Saskatchewan, & Vancouver. Not to mention that couple I served awhile back who came two nights in a row and told me it had been their favourite restaurant on their whole trip! I got talking to them and it turned out the guy was an influencer from Missouri with over 580K followers on his Math channel! Here I am all excited like, “I almost have 2000 followers!!!” 😂

It’s pretty cool to have a place on the scenic highway. You never know who you are gonna meet. So many good souls I’ve crossed paths with.

It wasn’t the busiest week I’ve ever had, but it was such great vibes; so enriching & fulfilling.

Thank you to everybody who stopped in; gave me purpose; filled their bellies; fed coins into my pool table; unleashed their inner rock stars; and danced up a storm.

Next weekend’s Karaoke night will be on Friday where we will also be celebrating Davanna’s milestone birthday! So try to make it out and make that girl feel special! She didn’t want to do any special theme for her birthday but just so you know- she loves 80’s music and doing duets! I’m officially inviting you to Davanna’s reluctant karaoke birthday party. 🥳

Don’t forget we have a live show coming up on Thursday, August 27th! Cupid’s Heart from Saskatchewan are coming through Ontario and are excited to grace our stage! They will be joined by a local opening act to get the night started.
There are no tickets or cover charges, but donations are greatly appreciated!
Don’t miss your chance to see these talented musicians!

08/08/2026

08/08/2026

I didn’t get a chance to write my little blog post last week, but I was blessed to have a couple of my siblings up for a visit, and my sister coaxed her extended family out to the tavern for a night out.
It’s always great for me to challenge myself and cook for a bigger crowd- especially when they are easygoing and can cut me some slack here and there! 😅

I was having some power issues. I couldn’t figure out why I kept tripping the breakers, and I just kept flipping it back and going back to cooking, and then losing power to certain things again. Finally, I realized after running back and forth between the dining room and back room repeatedly, doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome…..it was the air conditioner. That was the only thing I hadn’t had running at any of my former events, which had all taken place in the winter time.

So problem solved but now with 30-40 minutes of wasted time, I was behind the 8 ball.
Everyone was cool about it and enjoyed the pool table, trivia, & karaoke.
Karaoke was a real treat because there were so many great singers and new songs that hadn’t been done at our place before. It was a great night, and very fulfilling to see that everyone was having such a good time together. I do love this business!

Wednesday was all about my “regulars”, and Thursday was mostly people passing through. They were slower days so I got to have some amazing conversations, did up some desserts with my daughters, and taught my oldest how to make her first Koe’s Garden recipes: egg drop soup, & wonton soup!

We had karaoke last night, and let me tell you- there was a lot of talent in the house. They were all people who have graced our stage previously, but by some coincidence, they all showed up on the same night this week and it was awesome.
If you weren’t there, you definitely missed out.

My butter tarts are really gaining a reputation lately! They have become a staple dessert at the tavern. I still have a few left for tonight, as well as our famous wonton soup.
Come down to the Cobalt Miner’s Tavern and treat yourself to some good food, hopefully your favourite drinks, and definitely your favourite music. (Requests always welcome!)

“I’m ready to go in, coach, just give me a chance!”

I can’t wait to host you! 🫶

08/06/2026

Wonton soup available