Blue Sky Restaurant
Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada
Proprietors: John and Victoria Georgas
Years of operation: 1975-1995

My parents owned two restaurants before they opened the Blue Sky, but the Blue Sky was the one I grew up in. It was located at the bottom of Main Street in Penetanguishene, Ontario. Penetang for short.

That’s me and my dad at the counter, circa 1980, along with one of our regular customers, Barba Tzimi (also Greek). I’m guessing it’s afternoon, otherwise my dad would not be sitting down. He is probably holding a cigarette in his left hand, hidden behind that cup of coffee.

You could smoke openly and anywhere back then, and the restaurant sold cigarettes behind the register. Lots of ‘em. Export A, Rothmans, Player’s, DuMaurier. (My dad smoked Rothmans.)

The restaurant had an open kitchen, six stools that ran along the counter facing the open kitchen, and ten four-tops. Nine after my dad discovered the serious profit margin on booze and installed a bar.

Right below the Heinz can is the dishwasher, which is where I spent much of my teenage life. Opening the maw of the machine, hot steam gusting forth, trying to look cool, or at least not angry, in front of the customers.

There were only a handful of Greek families in the area and we all owned restaurants. The Watergate. The Dock Lunch. The Olympia. The Diana. The Arch. Mr. Sub. My best friend’s grandma - nana, they called her - would corner me every chance she got to tell me that “the Greeks were taking over.”

This was mostly the 70s, 80s, and 90s, what I would call the Greek restaurant heydey. Slowly, our parents’ generation is dying. Those of us who grew up in restaurants wanted nothing to do with the business (mostly). Soon, there will be no one left to say, Hey, we were once here. Our restaurant was once a vital part of the community.

Remember?

This project is an attempt to document the stories of restaurant kids in Canada and beyond, especially of the Greek diaspora.