‘Same hours, same days, same menu’ Longtime St. B eatery Mrs. Mikes reopens after 2023 closure By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 5:58 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 18, 2024 Last Modified: 8:00 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 18, 2024 Updates

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No rain, sleet or snow would keep diehard fans from witnessing a St. Boniface institution’s resurgence — or from grabbing a burger.

“Nothing stops me. Not from Mrs. Mikes,” Patricia Manaigre said, as she waited outside the Tache Avenue burger joint.

Manaigre joined a handful of people gathered around the red-and-white shack, prepared to order lunch during the eatery’s first minutes open in 2024.

Last year, a co-owner of Mrs. Mikes announced the 54-year-old business would close; he planned to retire.

However, co-owner Cathy Mikos wanted to continue. And so, she and family members raised the shack’s white shutters at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, looking out to a crowd of hungry patrons.

“When we found out they were opening, oh boy, it was like a party,” Manaigre said.

Her family was “devastated” upon the news of Mrs. Mikes closure in 2023. They frequented the restaurant often. Manaigre said she missed the cheeseburgers and strawberry milkshakes, and the friendly staff.

Despite claims of the restaurant being sold, it’s still a family business, Mikos said, pausing from her work in the kitchen. “Same hours, same days, same menu.”

Mikos added she’s unsure how long she’ll run the business for, but family will operate it “as long as we can.”

She’s now working the burger joint with her sister Yvonne Nakoulas and niece Christina Nakoulas. Her husband Nick bought Mrs. Mikes in 1969.

“I’m very happy to be back,” Mikos said. “I’m just happy to see all my customers. For me, that’s everything.”

At 2 p.m. Thursday, Mrs. Mikes’ phone was ringing with orders. Staff bustled in the burger shack. It’s looked the same to Edward Thibert since his middle-school-age visits 45 years ago.

He doesn’t have to speak when he reaches the ordering window. Employees already know what he wants.

“When we found out they were opening, oh boy, it was like a party.”–Patricia Manaigre

Thibert has been a consistent Mrs. Mikes customer for 45 years, minus last summer, when the restaurant’s future was in question.

“I was a little sad when they said they were going to close for good,” Thibert said, adding it’s been “a staple of St. B for so long.”

The restaurant is good for local business, too, noted next-door neighbour Jeff Clark. He believes Old Town Barbershop, which he co-owns, has seen at least a few new customers because of Mrs. Mikes.

“People, while they’re waiting for their food, they’re standing in front of the shop,” he said. “Maybe some people didn’t even realize there was a barber shop here.”

Mrs. Mikes brings newcomers to the area and is “great” for the community, he added. He, too, stops by sometimes.

Christina, Mikos’ niece, also used the word “great” when describing Mrs. Mikes reopening. She grew up in the restaurant.

On Thursday, she viewed the crowd as the eatery’s white shutters rolled up.

“The customers were waiting for us — that’s what makes them such beautiful customers,” she said.

Marc Berard arrived at least 40 minutes before the eatery opened. He filmed the occasion.

“Everyone around this community has been… supporting these guys,” said Berard, a former St. Boniface resident. “The burgers are so good.”

Mrs. Mikes has collected accolades, including a shout-out from Reader’s Digest as one of Canada’s eight greatest burger restaurants in 2014.

The eatery’s King Burger won a Free Press best burger contest around 30 years ago, and a similar CBC Manitoba competition in 2013.

The head of the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association called Mrs. Mikes “an integral establishment” in 2023, when the burger hub stayed closed for a summer.

Summer is its busiest season. In closes in the winter.

Nick Mikos purchased Mrs. Mikes after immigrating from Greece in 1967; he died nearly 12 years ago. His brother Steve, who ran the business with Cathy, retired in 2023.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com