‘A real shame’ for Sherbrook Beloved, eclectic West Broadway eatery The Tallest Poppy transitions to takeout-only and catering business By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Friday, May. 26, 2023 Last Modified: 11:18 AM CDT Saturday, May. 27, 2023 Updates

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The burger had vanished.

Fries remained on Ashley Gawne’s plate. She was sitting near a window in The Tallest Poppy Thursday, looking out at Sherbrook Street.

“I heard it was their last day, and I was like, ‘Well, I better eat this,’” she said, looking down at the half-consumed lunch. “The food is amazing.”

She was a day early. The West Broadway staple’s last dine-in hours were Friday.

Still, Gawne knows it won’t be the last burger from The Tallest Poppy; the business will continue with takeout and catering.

“I’m kind of sad about it,” Gawne said of the dining-room closure. “It’s a good place for community to gather.”

There have been countless drag brunches, dance parties and birthday bashes inside the restaurant’s art-laden walls, which are attached to the lore-laden Sherbrook Inn, a building erected in 1965.

“(This is) the first place that comes to mind when I think about going out for lunch,” said Brett Crawford.

He awaited a cheeseburger — one of the best in the city, he said — during Thursday’s midday rush.

“Open, accepting, eccentric,” Crawford listed, describing The Tallest Poppy. “It seems like kind of an artistic place, but just kind of reflects this neighbourhood, too… it’s a good vibe.”

The chicken and waffles have become legendary in some circles; local beers flow; Cheryl Lashek, the celebrity mechanical engineer whose signature is on permits posted in elevators across Manitoba, greets patrons from an artist-created wall hanging.

The drag brunches and other events will go in the dining area while the kitchen prepares food for catered lunches and takeout orders.

“The parties and the events and the kind of special stuff has always been what we hang on for,” said Talia Syrie, the eatery’s owner. “(We’ll) focus on the fun stuff a little bit more.”

Multiple factors led to The Tallest Poppy’s shift in operations, Syrie said. For one, core staff have “been at it for a really long time” and wanted a change. The facility also requires a number of expensive upgrades.

“We… had to make the call — do we want to throw a bunch of money at this, or do we want to sort of pivot?” Syrie said.

She wouldn’t divulge what upgrades were needed, but noted many things need repair or replacement.

A couple of key employees who’ve been with Syrie since The Tallest Poppy’s beginnings on Main Street have decided to make career changes.

“It was time for all of us to… move on with our lives,” Syrie said, adding her staff of 20 is “pretty spectacular.”

The employee count will drop to 10 with two or three part-time front of house staff. Over the next couple weeks, chefs will experiment, expanding the menu, Syrie said.

The pandemic did not affect the decision, though inflation has made renovating more expensive, she noted. She began considering the change last fall, roughly nine years after settling in at Sherbrook Street and Westminster Avenue.

Rumours about a potential sale of the hotel have swirled through West Broadway. The current owner dismissed them, saying that’s all they are — rumours.

“I’ll still be here for a while,” Terry Bailey said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Mike Williams, who’d heard whispers of a Sherbrook Inn sale, learned of The Tallest Poppy’s changes through his staff.

“They’re well-liked in the area,” said Williams, who operates a Sherbrook Street convenience store. “Any place like that, because they’re well-established, it hurts the area.”

Decadence Chocolate owner Helen Staines called the closure “a real shame.”

“It’s definitely going to be a loss to the neighbourhood,” she said. “It brought quite a few people down here.”

Both entrepreneurs noted foot traffic is lighter than pre-pandemic levels. It’s likely the same everywhere, with the rising cost of living, Staines added.

“The Tallest Poppy dining room will certainly be missed,” said Eric Napier Strong, executive director of the West Broadway BIZ.

Overall, however, things are looking positive along Sherbrook Street, he noted — businesses including Good Neighbour Brewing Company and One Sixteen have recently opened.

“We’re excited to see what new directions (The Tallest Poppy has) planned,” Napier Strong said.

Syrie, 46, described the dining room’s shuttering as “emotional.”

“The restaurant has been amazing for a million reasons,” she said. “There are people whose children I watched grow up.

“I’ve been invested in so many strangers’ lives over the course of the last 15 years.”

The Tallest Poppy opened on Main Street in the Red Road Lodge, formerly the New Occidental Hotel. Roughly 6 1/2 years into the business, Syrie closed shop and oversaw a café in the Neechi Commons food co-op a bit further north on Main Street.

Once the one-year contract expired, she reopened The Tallest Poppy — this time, in the space it currently occupies at 103 Sherbrook St.

“I’m going to miss it, I’m going to miss seeing people,” she said. “I hope that the parties still bring people out.”

And although Syrie hasn’t planned to open a new restaurant, she said she’s not opposed to launching a new venture in the future.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com