Time to steak a claim Longtime fan buys Rae and Jerry’s, promising to only ‘tinker’ with restaurant By: Kevin Rollason Posted: 11:50 AM CST Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 Last Modified: 3:28 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 Updates

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This article was published 18/01/2024 (625 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Adam Rodin traces the spark that led to his taking over the iconic Rae and Jerry’s Steak House to a long-ago Winnipeg Jets game at a long-gone Winnipeg Arena.

Rodin was not even a teenager when, sitting in the stands of the old Winnipeg Arena, the smell of a hamburger with fried onions with fries wafted into his nostrils.

“I tried to figure out where that smell was coming from,” Rodin, 47, said Thursday. “Then I saw a guy ahead of me and I wondered where did he get that hamburger? Turned out it was (Rae and Jerry’s) owner Steve (Hrousalas).

“All I knew was I wanted to be that man with the burger.”

As of Jan. 15, he is.

Rodin and two investors are the new owners of Rae and Jerry’s (1405 Portage Ave.), bringing to a close 49 years of ownership by Hrousalas.

“I’m 79 and I’m in good health — touch wood,” Hrousalas said. “I know I could continue for three or four more years, but this opportunity came up. It will continue as a restaurant. I thought it was the right time to do this.”

Shaun Jeffrey, executive director of the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association, said while he is sad to see Hrousalas retire from the Winnipeg scene, he is thrilled the restaurant is here to stay.

“It’s the end of an amazing chapter here in Manitoba and the start of a new one,” Jeffrey said. “We lost so many restaurants during the (COVID-19) pandemic that we cannot afford to lose an iconic restaurant like Rae and Jerry’s. I’m very happy to see it will stay in operation.”

“It’s the end of an amazing chapter here in Manitoba and the start of a new one.”–Shaun Jeffrey, Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association

Jeffrey said he’s also pleased to hear the new owners don’t expect to make any major changes.

“Fifty to 60 years of being around shows that it is going to work,” he said. “You need the atmosphere, the red — everyone knows of the red (seating and carpet). You know you’re in a place of class, of history, and a place that will give you a wonderful memory for the future.”

The 330-seat restaurant, located east of Polo Park, is celebrating its 67th birthday at its current location this year.

The Manitoba Historical Society’s website says the restaurant was founded by John Rae and Gerald (Jerry) Hemsworth in 1947 on Kennedy Street, moved to Portage Avenue at Langside Street in 1950, and opened at its present spot in 1957.

Hrousalas was only 12 when he first began working in his dad’s Paris Restaurant in Winnipeg. He went on to work at the original Junior’s on Main Street (now VJ’s Drive Inn) and the Red Top Drive Inn.

He was working as restaurant manager for the Hudson Bay Co. store restaurants in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (including the iconic Paddlewheel Restaurant and Georgian Room) when he decided to walk into Rae and Jerry’s and ask the owners if they would consider selling.

“I approached them on a cold call and they gave me a price and 11 months later, I bought it,” Hrousalas said. “I was 30 and I was dumb enough to leave everything in the restaurant alone — and it was the right choice. I’ve already told the new owners ‘Leave it alone.’”

Hrousalas said for years he has turned down offers seeking to buy the property to demolish the restaurant to put up a multi-storey residential building.

Then — much like Hrousalas did almost five decades ago — Rodin walked in to talk with him.

Rodin said he has been visiting the restaurant known for its dark wood interior, red leatherette seats and wonderful food for most of his life.

He and his partners will “tinker at the edges,” but are not planning any major changes.

With no restaurant management experience, the partners have hired a former Earls restaurant general manager.

“I’m just thrilled,” Rodin said. “It has always been a place for my family to celebrate special events and bring people from out of town. We have big shoes to fill.”

Rodin is getting an idea how large those shoes are. He said he has been inundated with congratulatory calls and emails from appreciative patrons of the restaurant.

The top question?

“Lunch,” he said, noting the restaurant discontinued serving lunch early in the pandemic and continues to open daily at 4 p.m. “Whether we will open again for lunch is the most asked question — one guy says he is starting a petition.

“We’re certainly looking at it. Stay tuned.”

As for Hrousalas, he will still be in the restaurant the next two weeks, showing the new owners the ropes and continuing to be in contact for the next year.

Beyond that, Hrousalas said he hopes to see more of his two daughters and three grandchildren (all live out of province) and spend more time at his vacation home in Florida.

“What I’m going to miss are the customers, the staff and the ability to come to work every morning. And I’ve got a lot of memories over 49 years.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca