John Southam established the Vine Inn on the Great Whyte in 1838. It was the only establishment to sell wine and spirits at that time. John appears in trade directories as a spirit merchant from 1838 to 1869.  The site of the Vine is where the B&M Express supermarket is now. 

John also has the distinction of having one of the bridges across the Great Whyte named after him. We don’t exactly know where this bridge stood in relation to the Vine. but it would be logical for it to have been close by.