Thunderbird Restaurant closes after 6 decades

After serving breakfasts and burgers for 64 years, the Thunderbird Restaurant has shuttered amid a legal battle between the City of Winnipeg and the building’s owner.

Sunday marked the iconic eatery’s last day in business, according to a message posted on the front door of 1970 McPhillips St.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closing of the Thunderbird Restaurant,” the note reads. “This journey has been incredible and we’re immensely grateful for the support of our customers, employees and partners. Thank you for being a part of our story. We appreciate everything and we miss you.”

Long recognizable for its towering, yellow-and-red, T-shaped signage, the Thunderbird was opened in 1961 (one of two such named drive-ins in the city) by brothers John, Jimmy and Perry Ginakes.

John operated the McPhillips Street diner with his wife, Gloria, for decades. He was known for his signature Thunderburger, Greek salads and breakfast spreads.

When he retired, he leased the space to tenants in 2013 to continue the restaurant’s legacy.

The family kept possession of the building, which is now managed by Niata Enterprises, owned by Peter Ginakes.

“It’s unique because there’s only a handful of restaurants in the city that have operated that long and, obviously, if you’ve operated for that long as an independent, you’ve been doing something right,” Peter Ginakes said on Wednesday.

“If you’ve operated for that long as an independent, you’ve been doing something right.”–Peter Ginakes

Terance Gyselinck, manager of Riverside Greenhouses, which neighbours the restaurant, had visited the eatery for more than 20 years. He wasn’t surprised it had closed down, but said it’s a bittersweet result. Whenever he went in, Gyselinck would always order the breakfast special.

“It always takes you back to the past. It’s a very nostalgic place with a ’60s and ’70s feel,” Gyselinck said. “I got to know the owners, and they were very nice, hard-working people. I wish them the best.”

The restaurant tenants had unsuccessfully tried to sell the business for multiple years because they wanted to retire, said Peter Ginakes.

An online real estate listing showed the restaurant had been posted for nearly 700 days, with an asking price of $169,900.

Ginakes said he’s optimistic he’ll find new tenants to get the restaurant back up and running, but admits an ongoing legal battle has made it difficult.

Legal battle over parking lot

Niata Enterprises has been fighting with the City of Winnipeg to hand over all its records on the plans and approvals originally given for the restaurant and parking lot variances — and, if not found, explain why the sought-after documents don’t exist.

The issue was triggered by a plan to build a Starbucks coffee drive-thru on the FreshCo grocery store parking lot, neighbouring the Thunderbird. The proposal will eat up the remaining parking lot space the restaurant has, Ginakes said.

“You’ve got six stalls of parking for an 80-seat restaurant. That’s not enough parking for even the staff to be there.”

For decades, Thunderbird customers parked in the neighbouring supermarket lot under the terms of an easement agreement the City of Winnipeg has said doesn’t exist, he said.

After years of legal wrangling, Niata Enterprises filed a notice of application in September 2023 with the Court of King’s Bench for the city to produce the documents.

A month later, the city filed a motion to strike down the application, calling it an abuse of process and saying it was “too difficult or impossible to respond to,” court papers show.

In a May 20 decision, King’s Bench Justice Theodor Bock dismissed the city’s motion to strike down an application to search for the documents. Bock described Niata Enterprises’s application as “bold” and not abuse of the process.

“Mere boldness is not a basis on which to strike a pleading,” said Bock.

matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca