The last roundup at the downtown Pony Corral
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/02/2020 (2026 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Pony Corral has closed up its downtown stable.
A little over 20 years after it opened, the local restaurant chain’s St. Mary Avenue location has served its last Pony burger. Its lease expired, and the owner chose to not renew.
“It was a tough decision,” said Peter Ginakes, the owner of the restaurants started by his dad, Jimmy, with just about the whole family pitching in.
The St. Mary location opened in the former Grapes restaurant space in 1999, a dozen years after the Ginakes family opened the Pony Corral on Pembina Highway. Soon after, a Pony opened on Nairn Avenue, and later, a Grant Park location.
But for many years, Ginakes said the downtown location held a special place in the company; he started it with his dad, and it had been the home to the restaurant’s corporate office.
Before the Grant Park location began hosting Sunday cruise nights, Ginakes said they were based downtown. The restaurant also hosted celebrities such as Burton Cummings and Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with politicians such as prime ministers Justin Trudeau and Jean Chretien.
When Chretien visited Winnipeg, Ginakes said he had a lunch scheduled at the Fairmont. Then-premier Gary Doer whisked Chretien to the downtown Pony Corral instead, and they had burgers and Fort Garry beer.
The St. Mary’s employees were given advance notice of the closure, and many of them will be moving to work at the other locations, Ginakes said.
For now, Ginakes said he will be focusing on the three restaurants and his other real estate holdings, including the Masonic Temple (the former Mother Tucker’s restaurant) on Donald Street, which he believes could house everything from a theatre to a brewpub to a distillery.
As for future plans for Pony expansion, Ginakes didn’t rule it out. Maybe a spot in the suburbs, or even a return downtown, although nothing is planned right now, he said.
“It’s been a great 20 years,” he said. “The area around here is excellent, and we’re grateful for all the support.”
ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University’s (now Toronto Metropolitan University’s) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben.
Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University’s (now Toronto Metropolitan University’s) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben.
Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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History
Updated on Friday, February 28, 2020 6:56 PM CST: corrects street name
Updated on Saturday, February 29, 2020 1:21 PM CST: Clarifies the Pembina Highway location was opened in 1987.