Pete’s Place shuttered after 17 years
High overhead, lack of parking blamed for dooming diner after move to Osborne Village
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/12/2018 (1933 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Pete’s Place restaurant has served its final dish, shuttering its doors for good this week, mere months after moving into a new location in Osborne Village that’s been home to a string of short-lived eateries in recent years.
The closure was announced on the restaurant’s Facebook page Wednesday.
“Regretfully after almost 18 years in business, we must close our doors for good… We sacrificed everything we had to make it work, but it just didn’t,” the post reads.
For 17 years, the restaurant was a fixture on Main Street, where it developed a loyal following thanks to its made-from-scratch diner food with Greek flair.
The owners, Peter and Samantha Vlahos, closed their original location in West Kildonan in November 2017.
The married couple selected a location near Polo Park as the new home for the restaurant, but had to back out on the lease after it was discovered the building had extensive water damage.
In May, they signed on to lease an empty building at 135 Osborne St., at the intersection of Stradbrook Avenue. However, in the Facebook post Wednesday, the owners hinted that was a decision they regret.
“Due to the unexpected problems during our relocation from Main Street to our chosen location in Polo Park, we let our emotions take over and rushed to reopen the doors at the first viable opportunity. We missed our customers and we missed cooking. Pete’s Place was our life,” the post reads.
“Due to the extremely high overhead costs, lack of accessibility and lack of parking for our customers, we just couldn’t get enough customers through the doors (for) what was needed to break even.”
The location was previously occupied by Basil’s restaurant for years, but closed when the owner, Basil Lagopoulos, retired. He is still the owner of the building, alongside many other properties in Osborne Village.
Basil’s was replaced by the Black Rabbit, which closed after two years. Then along came Ward 1, but that closed after just two months in business. In between those eateries, the location languished through lengthy periods of vacancy.
The closure of Pete’s Place marks another blink-and-you-miss-it venture at the spot.
In August, Free Press restaurant critic Alison Gillmor reviewed the newly reopened Pete’s Place, giving it a 3½-star grade thanks to its “solid diner-style fare with a few Greek favourites” and “populist approach in its fancier new digs.”
“To our amazing staff, most of whom have been with us for years, thank you for your hard work and great energy you brought. You are family to us. To our many regular customers that have supported and followed us, we are very grateful,” the owners wrote.
“So many friendships were formed and we will miss you all dearly.”
ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @rk_thorpe
Ryan Thorpe
Reporter
Ryan Thorpe likes the pace of daily news, the feeling of a broadsheet in his hands and the stress of never-ending deadlines hanging over his head.
History
Updated on Thursday, December 13, 2018 6:02 AM CST: Adds photos