Memories…
Explore the vibrant history of Saskatoon’s Greek cafes, where culture and community thrived in the heart of downtown during the early 20th century.
In the bustling streets of Saskatoon during the 1930s and 1940s, Greek cafes became a cornerstone of community life. These establishments were more than just places to enjoy a meal; they were vibrant hubs where stories were shared, friendships were forged, and the rich tapestry of Greek culture was celebrated. As immigrants from Greece settled in Saskatoon, they brought with them a passion for hospitality and a dedication to preserving their heritage. The cafes served as a meeting point for the Greek community and a welcoming space for all, offering a taste of Greece through traditional dishes and warm, inviting atmospheres.
Saskatoon’s Downtown Cafes in the early 1930s
John Donald (“Jack”) Chrones
“Now a little bit of 2nd Avenue as I remember it. From the K.G. Hotel [at the southwest corner of Second Avenue North and Twenty-third Street East] was the Cameo Restaurant, and Campbell’s Cafe. In the early 30’s across the street was the Zenith Cafe . . . . Above it was a sort of dance hall for functions; it even had palm trees in the cafe area.
The next block, going south on the west side of the street, was the Paragon Cafe, run by the Kortes family, down south of the Paragon was the Golf’s Chocolate Shoppe. Specializing in candies, sweets and foods, run by Mr. Gus Golf, whose family later came after the war, in December 1945, and were friends of ours for many years.
Across the street from there was the Western Hotel, then further north was the Picardy Shop [which sold] cakes, sweets, etc., and then the Daylight Theatre. Near Picardies was the Sliver Grey Cafe, which I vaguely remember but it was there. Further south at 213 – 2nd Avenue from 1930 – 1938 was Dad’s 1st restaurant [the Gem Cafe], and at 244 – 2nd Avenue S. was the old Elite Cafre operated by the Girgulis familites from 1917, and further south was the old Paris Cafe operated by Tom Smith, the people we stayed with when we first arrived in Saskatoon in 1930.
Across the street was later the Arcade Restaurant operated by Tom and Louis Kelles, who also ran the Crystal Beach Resort near Tessier . . . .
On 20th Street West was the old Commercial Cafe operated by George Karabellis and George Chitsas who were very close to my dad; in fact, they were from the same village in Greece and the family Girgulis is also from the same village.
Going down 21st Street East [towards the current location of Midtown Plaza] was the Commodore Cafe opterated by Steve Leakos who later moved to 2nd Avenue N. in the present location of the Commodore Building.
Next to the Star-Phoenix or Phoenix House as it is known now, was a little restaurant run by a Mr. Domini [who] had 2 sons, George and Harry, which were a bit older than me, but my brother Jim associated with them more frequently. Thye moved at the outset of the war and went to Quebec City.
Towards the Arena Rink was the bus depot, the New World Cafe, and at the cornoer was Bill’s Taxi. That in essence were the cafes and restaurants in all of Saskatoon, centrally located in one time. . . . “
Source: A Memoir by John Donald (“Jack”) Chrones, from a handwritten document he produced in the 1990s.
Saskatoon’s Greek Restaurants in the 1930s and 1940s
Helen Lucas (2017)
Photo Source: Lina Jabra
“Usually Greeks migrated to where they had a relative, then travelled west until they found a place that needed another restaurant — not with Greek food, which wasn’t chic, but ham and eggs and veal chops. (Compeition was a lively part of the community.) Other restaurant owners would drop in to say good morning, count my father’s [Bill Geatros’] pies, then come back in the evening to see how many he’d sold.”
Helen (Geatros) Lucas quoted in Sylvia Fraser, “Helen Lucas Inside Out”, Homemaker’s Magazine, September 1998, p. 28.
Greek island once found in downtown Saskatoon (2017)
Damage is pegged at $1 million in the fire that gutted a downtown restaurant and a coffee shop last week. And the Greek artifact that was torched? Priceless.
The Commodore Cafe was heritage property, as distinctly Saskatoon as The Bessborough and the weir parking lot. Granted, the Commodore of late was different from how it once was; with a succession of owners in recent years, the character of the joint had changed. But it was still The Commodore – same name, same place, a last link to a colourful chapter in the city’s history.
The cafe was established 60 years ago, dating back to when Steve Leakos set up shop on Second Avenue in 1947. The New Commodore, Leakos called it then, to distinguish it from the other Commodore he ran for 15 previous years at another downtown location, on 21st Street.
Aside from his experience with a railway labour crew in Alaska, restaurant work was the life for Leakos – from the time he left home in Kyparisi, Greece at age 14 until he retired in 1973.
Leakos came to Saskatoon in 1930, at a time when the local Greek community was just getting cooking. That’s the remarkable thing about The Commodore, because as much as the cafe tells a story of one family, you can multiply it times 10. Downtown Saskatoon back in the day wasn’t just The Commodore and Steve Leakos, it was The Gem Cafe run by Jim Chrones, and it was Peter Pontikes at Johnny’s Lunch, and it was Tony Pelehos standing on the corner of 21st and Second with his Popcorn Palace cart. It was Gus Golf at Golf’s Chocolate Shop, too, and the Girgulis brothers at The Elite Cafe, and the Gardiner brothers at the Shasta Cafe, and Bill Geatros at the Ritz Hotel.
Most of them started as busboys and dishwashers and worked their way up, setting out on their own when their sense of independence and the latent entrepreneurship kicked in. All of them ended up doing business within a few blocks of each other, some over decades.
“It’s quite a story,” said Peter Golf, 77, Gus’s son. It’s Greek history, set in downtown Saskatoon. Jim Girgulis was one of the forerunners of the odyssey, leaving home at 15, selling popcorn and peanuts on Coney Island, eventually making his way to Saskatoon, where he bought the Elite Cafe in 1919.
The Girgulis brothers – Jim, Bill and Sam – were from the village of Kastri, Greece, home also of Chrones and Geatros and Pontikes. Although they arrived at a common destination, settling in Saskatoon in the early 1930s, they took different ways of getting here.”
Chrones, for instance, came to Saskatoon at age 28 after 14 years of working 14-hour days at the Commercial Cafe in Weyburn. Pontikes took the direct route, leaving home at 19 following the death of his father and moving to Saskatoon to join his sister Effie and her husband, Bill Geatros, in running the Ritz Hotel and the Bijou Theatre. Pontikes sent much of the money he made in Saskatoon back to Kastri to support the rest of the family, a benevolence continuing throughout his life as Peter and his wife Lola sponsored Greek families who settled across Western Canada.
Each of the Second Avenue Greeks contributed to the city. Steve Leakos sponsored basketball and hockey and softball clubs in Saskatoon for 40 some years under the Commodore crest. Jim Gardiner’s Shasta Black Hawks won back-to-back provincial titles in women’s basketball. Geatros was a top gun at the trapshooting range, as was Jim Girgulis. Girgulis was noted for coaching Saskatoon’s George Genereux to Olympic gold in Helsinki in 1952; Geatros for the special dispensation he received from the city to hunt a flock of rogue pigeons.
Competition was inherent among the Greek restaurants. A story is told of how the owner of one of the restaurants would often drop in at the cafe of another in the morning – to visit, yes – but mostly to note the number of pies in the glass display cabinet, so when he stopped by again later in the day and did another pie count, he’d know how the neighbour’s business was going. They were competitive, but fraternal, too. Each evening after work, the group of them got together at the Ahepa Club on 20th Street to play poker and have some laughs.
Peter Golf started out in the business as his father did, beginning young. At 15, Peter was a tray boy at Golf’s Chocolate Shop, not only working in the place, but watching and learning how a restaurant ran. By his 20s, Peter was an owner. He went on to own the Dog ‘n’ Suds drive-in and Bartlebys in Regina and Fuddruckers throughout Western Canada. At 77, Peter is at it still, now in his 54th year as a restaurant owner.
Peter’s first place was a burger joint with a neon sign out front shaped in the silhouette of a bird. One of his neighbours was a restaurant/banquet hall run by Jack Chrones, Jim’s son. The second generation of Greeks in Saskatoon had inherited a vision and entrepreneurship from the first.
This was the 1950s. And that was 8th Street. With Peter Golf’s Nite Hawk and Jack Chrones’s Jaydees leading the way, the strip was about to get cooking.
Source: Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, December 10, 2017, p. 3
Jane’s Walk 2025: Five Legendary Greek-owned Cafes in Downtown Saskatoon
This is a link to a CBC Radio interview of Ken Pontikes by Shauna Powers concerning a Jane’s Walk presentation on five Greek-owned cafes in Downtown Saskatoon. The interveiew was broadcast on CBC Saskatchewan Radio One on May 3, 2025.