Former iconic Ukrainian restaurant in North End finds new home in Gimli
CBC News | Posted: June 17, 2016 7:02 PM | Last Updated: June 17, 2016
Alycia's Restaurant closed doors in 2011, signature perogies famously loved by actor John Candy
After a five-year hiatus, a famous Ukrainian restaurant that used to draw perogy-lovers to Winnipeg's North End is re-opening a bit further north, in Gimli, Man.
Alycia's Restaurant closed in 2011 after serving up Ukrainian grub for about 40 years. Not long after the matriarch and founder of the restaurant Marion Staff died, the business ran into financial troubles and shut its doors.
During those intervening years, Staff's grandson Aaron Blanchard, and his mother Sharon Staff and step-father Roger Leclerc resettled in Gimli.
Blanchard lost his left arm in a work-related accident a few years ago, but that hasn't gotten in the way of his ability to pinch and roll perogies with the best of them.
"My passion for cooking has never changed and my speed and skill have never changed," he said. "I have a prosthetic arm which I use as well, but basically I am a one-handed cook and I am still just as quick and the food is just as hot."
He and his parents have had the opportunity to revisit the old recipes from time to time in recent years and realized "people still love Alycia's."
"They've never forgotten the recipes, neither have I," Blanchard said. "People miss the borscht, they miss the perogies, they miss everything."
When the opportunity to takeover a space near the Gimli harbour waterfront came up recently, the trio decided to jump back into the kitchen and inject a little more Ukrainian culture into the local Icelandic community.
The new location is coming along and will likely open in a few weeks, but Blanchard said they've already piqued the interest of people online, who remember his grandmother's signature dishes.
Within 24 hours of starting "The New Alycia's" on Facebook, Blanchard said more than 20,000 people had visited the page. People are even trying to place orders for perogies through the page, despite the fact that the operation still hasn't gotten off the ground.
"It's quite exciting to hear some of the old stories and to have some of these people come out and say they're going to support us and would love to come try our food," Blanchard said. "We've been really excited about the response from the public."
Hearts and stomachs
It isn't just the unique Ukrainian grub that helped secure a special place in the hearts and stomachs of Manitobans. The previous incarnation of Alycia's also made customers feel at home — something Blanchard and his parents hope to duplicate.
"We have the same homey environment here and it's just in a beautiful location. I think people will really like it," he said.
"I think the heart of Alicia's was always the staff. Everything is homemade.... One thing Alycia's has always been famous for is just hard work and dedication and we want to bring that back to the name and we want people to enjoy it as much as they did a couple of years ago."
In the early days, Marion Staff and about 11 other employees would, roll, pinch and churn out 1,000 dozen perogies a day, Sharon Staff said in an interview in 2009.
Staff got into the restaurant business in the early 1970s, when she took over what was then Alice's Restaurant. She gave the place a Ukrainian makeover and tweaked the name to Alycia's.
Blanchard said they're doing their best to capture Staff's story and history in the new place, affectionally named The New Alycia's.
The space in Gimli seats close to 50 people and has the same colour on the walls as the old restaurant to give it that nostalgic feel, Blanchard said.
It has a patio and a wall-of-fame with photos of famous patrons like actor John Candy who used to frequent the old restaurant.
'Larger than life' customer
Candy in particular was one of Alycia's biggest fans. After being served some of Staff's perogies in the middle of an on-air interview in Winnipeg with CBC, he and his brother fell in love with the food. For a time before Candy's death, it got to a point where Staff was regularly shipping orders of perogies out to the comedian in California.
"He loved them so much he ordered them on the set of his movies," Blanchard said. "He was larger than life. When he came he took the time to shake hands, to give hugs and to sign autographs.... We'll always have a piece of John Candy in our hearts."
Blanchard and his parents feel revitalized and ready to serve up the same old dishes and continue on in Staff's memory.
"I've always had the feeling of Alycia's in my heart and soul," Blanchard said.
Eager customers will have a chance to place orders after their opening on Canada Day long weekend.