Maxime’s to shutter after 4 decades of service

A south Winnipeg restaurant known for its deep menu and engaging hospitality will close next month after more than 40 years in business.

Maxime’s Restaurant and Lounge announced on social media on Thursday that the owners have decided to retire “after much deliberation” and have sold the land and building.

The Bekios family is planning to close the Worthington neighbourhood restaurant — located at 1131 St Mary’s Rd., just north of Abinojii Mikanah — in the third week of November.

“We have enjoyed so many years of success and our family’s journey has been one of extreme love and labour,” the family said in the statement. “We love the restaurant and our Winnipeg community and all that you have represented in our lives all these years.”

A Bekios family member told the Free Press on Friday morning the family wasn’t ready to do an interview, saying it’s an emotional time and they had received a flood of phone calls following the announcement.

The Ifantis family, which owns the Original Georges Burgers & Subs chain, purchased the building and land, franchisor Dimitri Ifantis told the Free Press. He did not disclose the terms of the deal.

The chain has nine locations, which are individually owned and operated; Ifantis’s sister, Anastasia, owns the location situated next to Maxime’s at 1141 St Mary’s Rd.

A realtor who knows both the Bekios and Ifantis families proposed the arrangement and brokered the deal, Ifantis said.

“We love the restaurant and our Winnipeg community and all that you have represented in our lives all these years.”

The Ifantis family plans to build a brand-new flagship restaurant at 1141 St Mary’s Rd. and tear down its current building. The family will develop the rest of the property — including the land it just acquired — to include a mixed-use commercial/residential development.

Ifantis noted the two restaurants have been neighbours since 1989, adding both families have Greek roots and long histories of serving the community.

“The dream was always to kind of rebuild here … where our roots are (in) St. Vital, which has been everything to us,” Ifantis said, adding his family is excited to give something back to the community via the mixed-use development. “I’m honoured they (the Bekios family) gave us this opportunity.”

Maxime’s announcement garnered more than 350 comments on Facebook and Instagram, many of them expressing disappointment.

Those same feelings were expressed by patrons walking into the restaurant for lunch on Friday.

“I’m very sorry to hear that it’s closing,” said Rose Giesbrecht, a 77-year-old Steinbach resident who was meeting a friend for one of their twice-annual brunch dates at Maxime’s. “The food is very good and … the staff has always been very, very nice — very helpful.”

For Anthony Esposito, who lives within walking distance, Maxime’s has been a go-to place for more than 30 years.

“It’s kind of got everything you like in a restaurant — especially a neighbourhood restaurant,” said Esposito, 71.

Maxime’s was established by George Bekios, who died last year at age 87.

Over the years, the restaurant became known for the variety of food it offered — including an extensive gluten-free menu in recent years — and was advertised as offering an atmosphere “of casual elegance” that was “the perfect setting for every occasion.”

Former Conservative MP Shelly Glover recalled working as a waitress at Maxime’s when it opened in 1984. Though she was only on staff for a year and a half, Glover said she continued to visit the restaurant as a patron, marking birthdays and anniversaries there. It was also the restaurant where she celebrated her win in the 2008 federal election.

“(The Bekios family) just put so much effort into making that restaurant supreme and that takes hard work,” Glover told the Free Press. “They’re the hardest-working family I know.”

“They’re the hardest-working family I know.”

Shaun Jeffrey, executive director of the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association, described it as a loss for the province’s food service industry.

“It’s really the classic establishment where you can kind of go back in time and maybe partake in something you had 20, 30 years ago,” he said. “It really did a great job of maintaining that charm they had for so many years.”

In Thursday’s announcement, the Bekios family expressed its gratitude to the restaurant’s talented staff and loyal customers: “We have loved being a part of your many celebrations, memories and happy milestones.”

Ifantis said his family plans to break ground on the new Georges restaurant in the spring. The soonest the rest of the property will be developed will be late 2027, he added.

Meanwhile, another Winnipeg institution — Bistro Dansk on Sherbrook Street — is still seeking new ownership. Owners Paul and Pamela Vocadlo put the restaurant up for sale in the summer, and said they will retire after they find a suitable buyer.

Paul Vocadlo said on Friday that a potential buyer has expressed interest, but there is no firm offer on the table. The spouses are determined to keep running Bistro Dansk until it’s in the right hands.

Vocadlo, who used to visit Maxime’s regularly, praised the Bekios family.

“Forty-one years in the restaurant business — that’s a big accomplishment,” he said. “Not too many people can survive that long.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca