Hy’s celebrates 60 years of meat-and-greets

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This article was published 26/10/2015 (3626 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AT HY’S: The late Hy Aisenstat, who opened Hy’s Steakhouse and Cocktail Bar in Winnipeg in 1955, would have been proud.

On Oct. 21, Hy’s famous steakhouse celebrated its 60th anniversary in Winnipeg as a lounge and upscale dining spot in the city, and the restaurant opened the doors to Winnipeg who’s-who with a red-carpet entrance for their loyal customers, friends, business associates and VIPs.

Neil Aisenstat (Hy’s son) is president of the Hy’s of Canada chain of restaurants, and flew in for the big soiree from Vancouver with chief operating officer Megan Buckley.

John McMillan, who worked at Hy’s for 37 years, starting as a waiter before moving up to become general manager, handed the reins of the downtown hot spot to Jason Sohor at the anniversary party.

Spotted at the happy-hour gala: Hartley Richardson of Richardson International; Robert and Sandy Shindleman from Shindico; Brian Scharfstein and Pam Cipryk from Canadian Footwear; Joelle Foster and Rebecca Dew from Futurpreneur; Jason Stalker from the Stalker Financial Group; and Tim Comack from the Ventura Land Company.

McMillan recalled many stars visiting Hy’s over the years. “Jerry Springer was just here last Saturday (Oct. 17) because he was in town for his show and Burton Cummings has been here many times. One time he lost his ring down the seat, and we had to pull the whole banquette apart to get it out.”

Hockey players have loved Hy’s too — NHL stars such as Sidney Crosby have logged a fair bit of Hy’s time, and “(Wayne) Gretzky did a couple of deals with lawyers and agents at Hy’s,” McMillan said.

“And I remember when 10 to 12 of the Pittsburgh Penguins came in, and it was Valentine’s night and we were full to the rafters,” he added. “So, we put them in a private room downstairs and slipped them out the back door after dinner… Fans had found out they were there, and had been waiting to try to get autographs for an hour.”

Movie stars such as Susan Sarandon and Rob Lowe have also graced the cosy restaurant, as did late business mogul Izzy Asper — and many of the jazz artists he loved — including guitarists Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel, who both played at Hy’s when it was on Kennedy Street.

McMillan has fond memories of Hy’s founder Hy Aisenstat.

“There are very few people who can walk in a room and all eyes turn to him. He was one of those people. He was very down-to-earth, very caring. I worked here for 37 years because it was a great place with great people,” he said.

 

GUESS WHO’S UP IN THE SKY: Also at Hy’s anniversary party was Vancouver musician Bryant Olender, Michael Bublé’s former musical director and pianist, who played through a special window. While he was still working with Bublé, they performed on many stages and private gigs for international who’s-who, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

“I kind of felt like Evita up there!” he said to yours truly, who found her way up to Olender’s little room that was cleared above the gold-lit bar below.

Olender, a high-energy guy, played and sang for four hours. His steady music gig is the Gotham Steakhouse in Vancouver’s St. Regis Hotel, another Hy’s property.

 

LILAC STREET MASCOT: Ned the blue-fronted Amazon parrot is a star.

“Ned has a job now,” said City Haul store owner Matthew Frost, who picks up the parrot each day from Bruce Rathbone of Nite Out Entertainment and takes the friendly bird to his collectibles, comics and paraphernalia shop at 173 Lilac St.

Ned, who loves the sunshine in the store window, chats and interacts with customers and rides around on Frost’s shoulders, showing off his brilliant green feathers, with patches of blue, turquoise, red and yellow.

Lately, Ned’s been learning to talk, and his first two-word phrase was “Hi Matt,” which he now says to everybody. He also likes to imitate people’s laughs, to their surprise and delight.

Ned has the mentality of a four-year-old, even though he’s actually 26. “We have a father-son relationship,” Frost said with a grin, as the bird nuzzled his cheek. “At first Ned was shy in the shop, and then one day a dog lunged at him and I pushed the dog away and that was good symbolism — Ned and I started to build a trust.”

 

ROCK SCHOOL COMING: There’s a stir in Corydon Village as workmen transform the old Sugar Mountain location into the School of Rock. Winnipeg surgeon and rocker Dr. Darrel Drachenberg is the owner, president and CEO of the Winnipeg franchise. The School of Rock describes him as a “cancer surgeon by day and gnarliest metal shredder this city has ever seen by night.”

This is a musical school with a difference, said School of Rock general manager Mike Reis. It will offer private weekly lessons, plus a small group of three-hour rehearsals with other students every week.

“Then four to five times a year the students put on a show in live venues. It gives them a real rock ‘n’ roll experience,” he said.

Lessons are for mostly for kids, but there are also spaces for some adults.

“We’d like to make as many kids who are not necessarily into sports come out of their rooms and show the other kids who are like-minded and want to rock. Our goal is to see how many kids’ lives we can affect,” said Reis, a veteran of the local music scene who fronted ska band the Afterbeat and co-founded ska-focused label Bacteria Buffet Records.

The School of Rock is still in the construction phase; the exterior at 657 Corydon Ave. is painted wildly and is something to see. The awning goes up this week and classes start soon after the new year.

For more information, email mreis@schoolofrock.com or check out School of Rock’s Facebook site.

 

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