Popular Chippawa restaurant closing
The popular Boat House restaurant that has been a staple in Chippawa for the last 21 years will close for good next month.
Peter Giannakopoulos and Tracy Stamp, the husband-and-wife couple who run the restaurant, have planned an end-of-an era party at the Macklem Street establishment on Sept. 30 between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Regular clients, friends and family are invited to the bash, which will feature live music, prizes and draws.
Stamp said Willowood, one of the bands that opened for the Boat House 21 years ago, will perform during the party.
Cash donations will be accepted, and all proceeds will go to Sisters Support Centre.
Stamp said the Boat House has operated since Oct. 26, 1996.
It had several incarnations prior to that, including Chaplin’s.
It will close Oct. 8.
Stamp said the family-run restaurant has built quite the client base during the last two decades through “hard work — 16 hours a day, seven days a week.”
“Everything is done homemade. We cut our chicken in house. Our steaks are cut in house. Pastas, sauces, gravy, everything is fresh made,” she said.
An emotional Stamp said the Sept. 30 party is a way to say “thank you to all our loyal customers.”
She said the property, which was up for sale for four years, has been sold.
“We wanted to make the right move at the right time. The place has basically got too big for me and my husband. When we took over, we had partners, and then we had our kids here. All our kids kind of went their own way.”
Stamp said Ontario’s decision to transition to a $15 minimum wage also played into the decision to step away.
“It’s probably the worst year I’ve seen in 20 years for staff. The staff that I have had been remarkable, but to try to hire new staff and pay them $14 an hour, I don’t know if you’ve seen our workforce lately, but it’s not great. That had a lot to do with it, too. As soon as they actually said the wage increase was a for sure thing, that’s when I said to Peter, it’s time.”
She said people have had mixed reactions to the news of the sale.
“You get a lot of people that are pissed off because they think that something is going to be built on this property right away. It’s not. The gentleman that did buy it is a local guy. He’s from Chippawa, and he’s going to run it as a restaurant for the next year or so.”
Stamp said they will have the property until Dec. 31. The new owner will take over in the new year.
Sherman Zavitz, Niagara Falls’ official historian, said the Boat House building was constructed about 1816.
“The builder was John Kirkpatrick who used it as a general store,” he said.
“The location was superb since his store was at the southern end of Portage Road, the route used, before the opening of the Welland Canal, to transport freight and passengers around the rapids and falls of the Niagara River.”
Zavitz said about 1900, the building was enlarged and became the Baltimore House Hotel, a popular place to stay for people who vacationed in Chippawa during the summer months.
“In later years, it was a variety store, a boarding house and a clothing shop. In the late 1970s, it became a restaurant which has operated under various names since then. rspiteri@postmedia.com Twitter: @RaySpiteri