‘People walked in … memories were created’

Customers at Pappas Greek Food and Steak were served a side of gratitude with their meals on Friday, as the long-running Winnipeg restaurant marked its last day in business.

Owners Bob and Maria Papasotiriou are retiring after more than 30 years of operating the eatery, located at the corner of Roblin Boulevard and Elmhurst Road in the Charleswood neighbourhood.

“People walked in, they celebrated around our tables — birthdays, special occasions — and memories were created. So it’s not like a business anymore. This is home,” Maria said before lunch service.

“I want to express our deep appreciation for everybody who came through our doors and made our dream a success. They filled our hearts with a lot of joy.”

With an extensive menu that included numerous Greek specialties, the restaurant billed itself as a place where customers could enjoy everyday dining with friends and family in a warm, inviting atmosphere.

Deciding to close the restaurant and sell the building wasn’t easy for the couple, who have been married for nearly 50 years.

“It’s hard to walk away, but you know, when you’re getting old, it’s not an easy thing to keep going,” said Bob, 76.

“It’s time to retire and finish this chapter of our life and move on to the next,” added Maria, 67.

“I want to express our deep appreciation for everybody who came through our doors and made our dream a success. They filled our hearts with a lot of joy.”

The husband and wife grew up together in Kyllini, a port town in Greece. Bob immigrated to Canada in 1967; Maria followed 10 years later.

After settling in Brandon, they opened the first of what became three restaurants in the Westman city in 1977: Romano Pizza and two Parthenon Pizza locations.

Seven years later, they sold the restaurants and moved to Portage la Prairie with their daughter, Tasha.

They opened an eatery called Westos and worked seven days a week until, following the advice of a customer whose son had died in a tragic accident, they decided to close the restaurant on Sundays so they could spend time with Tasha.

When Tasha started going to school in Winnipeg, Bob and Maria moved to the Manitoba capital. They opened Pappas at 3318 Roblin Blvd. on May 1, 1994, in what used to be a Bank of Montreal location. (They converted the vault into a walk-in fridge.)

The Papasotirious were aided by Gord Guenther, who started assisting Bob in the kitchen when the restaurant opened, and Krista Keryluk, who helped Maria with front-of-house duties for the last 27 years. Tasha also worked at the restaurant as a teenager and young adult.

In a review published at the end of August 2013, then-Free Press food critic Marion Warhaft described the service at Pappas as “warm (and) attentive,” and she called the Greek specialties on the menu, such as moussaka and lamb chops, the best she’d had “in ages.”

When asked about memories that stand out, Maria mentions a time both simultaneously challenging and meaningful: the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Many longtime customers made a point of ordering takeout so the restaurant could keep going.

“She remembers everything about everybody. I don’t know how she does it.”

“People phoned and they said, ‘How are you? Do you need anything?’ That was very touching,” she said.

Tasha says, in her youth, she didn’t always understand why her parents spent so much time at Pappas. That changed when she, too, started working there.

“I ended up appreciating the restaurant, and all the sacrifices and compromises that my parents made,” said the 47-year-old, who met her husband, Mathieu Brazeau, at the eatery. “Everything that I was fortunate enough to experience was because of this restaurant and my parents’ hard work.”

Vicki Green visited the restaurant for lunch on Friday with her sister, Chris Belanger. Pappas closing is a loss for the neighbourhood, said Green, who has been a customer for 30 years.

“I am so sad,” she said. “That’s a big part of Charleswood gone for me.”

“We’ve been in Manitoba 50 years, and there are places we haven’t seen because of work … We haven’t been to Hecla, we haven’t been to the Whiteshell – we haven’t been to so many beautiful places. So maybe we’ll just tour Manitoba.”

Meanwhile, Bruce MacFarlane stopped in to eat his favourite meal — the hot chicken Greek salad — and spend time with the Papasotiriou family.

He and his late wife, Diane, discovered the restaurant 15 years ago, and were immediately taken by the quality of the food and Maria’s warmth.

“She’s unique in the sense that she … treats everybody like we’re members of her family,” MacFarlane said. “She remembers everything about everybody. I don’t know how she does it.”

The building will be open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a garage sale, where Bob and Maria hope to sell the restaurant’s dishes, appliances and decor.

After that, they’re looking forward to a relaxing summer.

“We’ve been in Manitoba 50 years, and there are places we haven’t seen because of work,” Maria said. “We haven’t been to Hecla, we haven’t been to the Whiteshell — we haven’t been to so many beautiful places. So maybe we’ll just tour Manitoba.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca