Remembering those we lost too soon

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/01/2024 (693 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“The Winnipeg Police Service so far had classified Wednesday’s altercation as a ‘death investigation.’ It said Vogiatzakis and another man got into an altercation outside the restaurant at about 5:30 p.m.” Free Press, Jan 26, 2024.

It’s 2 a.m. on Friday, I am up long before dawn to make the weekly visit with my beloved Manitobans. It’s not unusual for writers to be sharing personal thoughts when most people are in a dream state. There was a particular column I was thinking about writing before I put my head on the Thursday night pillow. But that is now postponed because of the words that woke up my eyes at the top of this page.

I did not personally know Kyriakos Vogiatzakis, the owner of the Cork & Flame restaurant in St. James, but I feel as if I did, because the community of Greek Canadian restaurant owners has been family for me in three Canadian cities — Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg.

Last week at this time, everyone in Winnipeg’s Greek community, not to mention many thousands of people in Manitoba and around the world were talking about businessman Steve Hrousalas, retiring after half a century of owning and operating a national treasure — Winnipeg’s Rae and Jerry’s.

It’s the restaurant where I was sitting with best friends on New Year’s Eve, ringing in 2024. From the perspective of the owner passing on the torch, Rae and Jerry’s is a lifetime of devotion to family, employees, customers, and suppliers. Those are the priorities in every Greek-owned family business I have ever known, including the one I grew up in. The only difference is the mother tongue in our family was Hungarian, not Greek. And in our case, there was only full time employee, my father, Mike the tailor.

If Dad were reading the Free Press that morning, his mind would be arrested by the death of Mr. Vogiatzakis. Mike Adler would take off his reading glasses, wipe his eyes and say a silent prayer for him and his family. He would then put down the paper, take his professional shears, snip the article and tape it to a spot on the wall just above the Singer sewing machine that he operated for half a century.

He would keep it there for life, his way of making sure that the name of the late restaurant owner was never forgotten. Dad was a big believer in never forgetting those who died much too young, especially if they were removed from this Earth by a blood-stained hand.

It won’t surprise anyone to learn that my affection for the Greek restaurant community began in my childhood in our little shop. We were customers of several restaurants owned by members of the Greek community in Montreal.

It may sound strange to a reader in Winnipeg, but the best pizza we had in 1960s Montreal was emerging from the pizza ovens in restaurants owned by Greeks. The tastiest pepperoni of my youth was served at Tasty Foods on Decarie Boulevard just down the road from our store.

One of the saddest days of my life was Aug. 4, 2008, when I got word from my friend Peter Ginakes that his father Jimmy had died suddenly, of a heart attack, while visiting his little hometown in Greece.

It was through Jimmy that I got to know the much wider Greek community of Winnipeg, a very long time ago. My mother is turning 90, this coming Monday, Jan. 29. She was born the same year as Jimmy, 1934. She will always be the greatest story teller I will ever know.

But right up there with Mum was Jimmy, who owned the Pony Corral restaurants. He regaled me with his personal experiences of all the legends who built Winnipeg — all of whom were Jimmy’s customers at the various restaurants he owned. Jimmy had more than just one thing in common with the Adler family.

Just like us, he was on his way from his homeland to the United States, when he ended up in this country, and just like us, he fell in love Canada at first sight.

The last time I saw Jimmy Ginakes was in a casket with a large cross on his big Spartan chest, at the Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on Grant and Shaftesbury — the same Church where Winnipeg’s Greek community and many others will be saying goodbye to Kyriakos Vogiatzakis.

He was only 51.

Charles Adler is a longtime political commenter and podcaster.

charles@charlesadler.com