Pancake House closes (Original) Pembina location

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This article was published 18/09/2021 (1491 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Generations of Winnipeggers have eaten their last giant apple pancake, buttermilk pancake or waffle with wings combo at the Original Pancake House’s iconic location on Pembina Highway.

The restaurant, which opened its doors to hungry families when Elvis and the Everly Brothers were riding the top of the record charts and John Diefenbaker was Canadian Prime Minister, closed its doors permanently earlier this week.

It’s the first time since 1958 those doors won’t be reopening.

But Terry Friesen, the local chain’s general manager, said while the Pembina location has closed after 63 years and serving three generations of patrons, Winnipeggers will still be able to get their pancake fixes at their other locations at The Forks, the Clarion Hotel next to the Polo Park mall, and on McGillivray Boulevard across from Costco.

And Friesen said the closure isn’t because of COVID-19 like so many other restaurants in the city and across the country in the last two years.

“We didn’t have the place for sale,” said Friesen on Friday as he and other staff worked at clearing out the location. “This isn’t the sad story of a business gone bankrupt because of COVID fortunately.

“Someone knocked on our door and asked if we were interested in him making an offer. We looked at everything and a lot of things fell into place that it was the right time.”

Friesen, who wouldn’t divulge who the new owner of the property is — except that it has nothing to do with the proposed condominium development at the site of the Pembina Hotel — said all staff who want to will be transferred to their other three locations.

“It’s actually good because, like many other places, we have had a hard time with getting staff,” he said. “We’ve even had to close the McGillivray and Clarion locations in the evening at times.”

Friesen, who has worked with the chain for 10 years, said there are people working who have spent decades there — and some customers just as long.

“I’m hearing second- and third-hand stories of people who said this used to be a place where people went to before and after theatre,” he said.

“It was even called the Original Pancake and Chicken House when it opened. It was one of the first places to have fried chicken. That’s an interesting piece of history.”

Friesen said the Guberman family, which has owned the chain for decades, first opened it as a franchise of the Original Pancake House chain in the United States, but a year later they split away from the other company.

“There are still some in the United States, mostly in the southern United States, but they have no connection with us at all.”

Kevin Garski went on to run his own food service location in a local company, but when he was 14 he was hired as a dishwasher at the Pembina restaurant in 1980.

“It brings back a lot of memories of youth,” said Garski. “By the time I was 16 I was running the kitchen.

“I later was going to university and they made me the summer relief manager. They gave me the keys and said, more or less, here are the keys, you’re the manager. I am certain that does not happen these days.”

Garski said he also remembers Monty Guberman, the owner, coming in to check things out.

“He would speak to all of us young people there,” he said. “We all looked up to him.”

As for the sign out front, depicting a bow-tied chef with a long stringy moustache flipping a pancake, Friesen said they’ll be leaving it behind.

“I don’t have space in my house,” he laughed.

“And it has been a long time since a restaurant proudly advertised they have air conditioning.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca