A backhoe is expected to crush the former Fat Fox Caf building in Yellowknife this weekend

The building that housed theFat Fox Caf on 50Street in Yellowknife is expected to be torn down over the long weekend.

Arctic Environmental Services Ltd. could begin removing the back of the structure as soon as Saturday, said Robert Valleau, who owns the company.

Workers then planto take a backhoe to the rest of the building on Sunday or Monday morning, he said, crushing it bit by bit.

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That's an ideal time becauseCIBC, which has a parking lot next to the Fat Fox, will be closed on those days, saidValleau.

"We'll take the back end off first and then fence off the whole structure," he said. "So we would take the majority of the building down while the neighbouring parking lot is empty."

According to Valleau, the building is being taken down because it is old and the caf had an "unstoppable" leak in its kitchen.

The floors were also heaving, and the building's structural supports are rotting, he said.

Hazardous material, including asbestos, has already been removed, as have layers of siding and paint from the building's exterior walls.

"It was like peeling an orange, going back in time," said Valleau ofthe job.

The demolition isn't expected to have too much of an impact on Saigon Smoke Shop, which shares a wall with the former caf.

That shared wall will be left intact, Valleau said, and the hotel that owns the smoke shop will be responsible for eventually replacing that wall with a newer structure.

Barricades will be set up for this weekend's expected demolition, and workers will be manning the sidewalks, said Valleau. However, he doesn't anticipate the work to cause road closures.

A security fence will be left up around the area once the building is torn down, and the debris is expected to be taken to the landfill by Tuesday, Valleau said.

Do you have any memories from the former Fat Fox building? Email Kirsten.Fenn@cbc.ca

With files from John Last