40 YEARS LATER...

He was just a guy who always wanted to own a bar. And he was just a guy who always wanted to be on the mic. They’re still together 40 years later.

Being friends with someone long enough to see them realize a professional dream they shared with you decades ago is, for me, one of life’s most treasured moments. Being able to experience your respective dreams together is another level of awesome.

When I met Dennis in first year University at UofT, he was already talking about his goal to one day own a bar, (his favourite TV show was “Cheers”). At the time, it was going to be themed around lab glassware like beakers, flasks, funnels, tubes and condensers (he was studying pharmacy). Early in our frosh year, I also jumped at my first chance to be on a microphone hosting our college’s “Coffee House” talent night, (I wasn’t yet sure what I was studying).

I continued on the mic and on-stage through my undergrad in Sociology and Criminology, eventually went to college for broadcasting and, in 1990, began to act on my professional aspirations on the mic: on radio, on-stage, and on TV. It was about 35 years later that Dennis got the chance to act on his dream, becoming a majority owner of a new bar in Orillia, ON. It wasn’t “pharmacy lab” themed, but with a craft brewery, there’s certainly flasks, tubes, funnels and condensers involved.

In June 2025, almost 40 years after we met, I performed my comedy Quiz Show at his bar.

Adam Growe, host of Cash Cab, performing his comedy Quiz Show.

I’ve had some epic show experiences on my career journey, and I expect many more. But, this show was very meaningful for me and unlikely to ever be duplicated. There was nothing fancy about the staging or technical equipment. The 2nd floor event space only seats about 70 people. My Green Room was the office/storage room.

And it was monumental.

I was on the mic, and one of my dearest friends was in the audience in a bar where everybody knows his name.