Serving their last Dilly bar

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/10/2016 (3508 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

According to Soula Perdikis, the Dairy Queen at 2677 Portage Ave. was her husband’s first baby.

She and Steve have owned the ice cream shop in St. James for 40 years, and this November they’ll be finishing out their last season there.

“It’s time,” Soula said. “Your heart is always going to be there, this is our career, our family, but after that long, you take time off.”

Soula and Steve are both from Greece and met in Canada after immigrating. A couple of years after getting married they were asked to take on the Dairy Queen by relatives and, already interested in owning a restaurant, they decided to go for it.

“Steve did a couple of years’ work as a cook but then we bought this,” Soula said.

When their two daughters were young, both worked behind the till of the family business, which is open from February to November every year.

“Now they’re married and they’ve both moved to Ontario,” Soula said. “That’s one of the reasons we decided to close. It’s time.”

The shop has been purchased by another family that will keep it as a Dairy Queen.

When asked what he will remember most, Steve said, “The people. The good people that taught me how to speak English and supported me all these years. That’s all I’m going to miss, and the business and the store. But mostly the people.

“They’re so good to me. I met so many friends. They knew my problems, I knew their problems.”

Soula said Steve was the face of the shop because he was always out front with customers or behind the counter.

“Now that they heard we’re leaving they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re going to miss you Steve,’ and the little kids, ‘Where are you Steve?’ Everyone saying it’s going to be so sad, it won’t be the same without you, and it makes you sad,” Soula said.

In 40 years the area has changed a little, they say, but St. James has always been “stable” according to Soula.

“You see more traffic, more businesses, more bars, restaurants, liquor,” Steve said.

He said when they started out, they were one of the only places in the area that sold ice cream, before fast food restaurants like McDonald’s began to serve cones too.

The biggest change? The faces that come through the door are getting older.

“We knew the grandparents and the parents and now we see the grandkids,” Soula said.

“Forty years that you put your heart and soul, so we’re happy. We’re leaving with good memories.”

The Charleswood couple has no big plans for retirement. They say they’ll take it day by day and spend time with their grandkids.