Old Chubby's building hearkens back to burgers, shakes and antique cars

There hasn't been a burger or milkshake served there in almost 20 years, but you can't miss it when you drive along Hwy. 2 in Dunstaffnage, P.E.I.

The pink and baby blue paint is chipped and faded. There are a few big white letters missing from the facade, but anyone who remembers it can easily fill in the blanks: Chubby's Roadhouse and Bud's Diner.

It has seen better days.

The one that everybody seemed to like was called the Bud Burger. They still talk about it.— Clarence Foster

Locals and tourists loved to stop in for a chat and bite to eat, says Clarence Foster, who built the restaurant in the 1970s. 

"We served burgers and fries and shakes, and fish and chips and clams and all that stuff," Foster said. 

"But I think as far as the burger goes, the best, the one that everybody seemed to like was called the Bud Burger. They still talk about it."

Dances were held in the back with local bands like Haywire, Foster said. Teens with ice cream cones would gather around the pinball machine. Bikers made it a popular pit stop on poker runs.

"I used to have wedding receptions and things like that," Foster said. "It was quite busy at times."

Foster is now selling the property, including commercial land next to Chubby's. But he's not ready to let go of the old Spoke Wheel car museum next door.

That's where it all began, he said.

Foster and his father, Ray, shared a love of antique cars. They both quit smoking when cigarettes were 48 cents a pack, Foster said, and put that money toward buying and restoring the cars.

By 1969, they had acquired 13, including a 1930 Ford Model A Coach that Clarence bought from the original owner and still drives to this day.

Opened car museum first

Problem was, they needed a place to put them. So they opened the Spoke Wheel car museum. 

The restaurant just came naturally.

"People were coming to the museum and looking for a place to eat," Foster said. "Since [Ray] was a cook in the army for years we decided to build a little canteen and it just kept on growing."

They ran the business until 2000, when Foster and his wife took their first vacation in years. And that was the end of Chubby's.

"I just get tired of having no summers off, to be honest, working every summer," Foster said.

"So we had a holiday in 2000. We went across Canada with an old car for two months and it was great. So it kind of spoiled me."

Though the museum has long since closed, Foster, 72, still spends his days tinkering with old cars.  His father passed away about 10 years ago, and Foster has carried on the antique car tradition with his own children. 

They have about 50 vintage vehicles, from 1916 to 1972, scattered around their property.  Some people still stop in to see the cars, Foster said, and he's happy to show them around.

But they'll have to do without the Bud Burger.

"You miss it sometimes," Foster said.

"You know, when you're talking to people and they're wishing they had a burger or something like that and you remember back but, oh we had good days there, lots of fun."

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