100-year-old restaurant hosted Stampede breakfasts
It is rare to find a building that has shared the same purpose since its inception. But that is the reality of the building now occupied by the Sabai Infusion restaurant, located at 638 Third Street S.E. Built in 1917 by local furniture magnate J. C. Beveridge, the two-storey brick building replaced a small wood frame restaurant on the site, known as the Club Café. The lower storey of the new building was built specifically for the proprietors of the “old” Club Café, who now named their new premises the “New” Club Café. Beveridge, who owned the building for the next 30 years, leased the second storey as medical and dental offices.
On July 7, 1917, the New Club Café opened its doors to the public. In a patriotic gesture to the war cause, the Café donated all proceeds that day to the Red Cross.
From 1929 to 1953, the New Club Café was operated by restaurateur and sports enthusiast Chris Jeffries. Using the New Club Café name, Jeffries sponsored hockey teams, baseball clubs, basketball squads and bowling teams. Chris was president of the MH Junior Tigers who were southern Alberta champions prior to the Second World War. Jeffries was named “Sportsman of the Decade” in 1960. The newspaper headline announcing his death in October 1962, referred to Jeffries as the “Crown Prince of Sport.”
Jeffries was a big supporter of the Medicine Hat Stampede and celebrated the annual event with a pancake breakfast.
By 1955, the restaurant was now known as the Club Café, a twist of fate as this was the original name of the former building on the site. The Club Café became a hot spot for local teenagers meeting their friends and listening to Elvis or Bill Haley and the Comets on the many table jukeboxes!
For many years, the restaurant operated as Top’s Pizza and Spaghetti house. Although the building’s appearance has been modernized, it remains a local food industry landmark.
This year, three downtown buildings are celebrating the centennial of their construction. The City of Medicine Hat, through the Heritage Resources Committee, recognizes these landmarks by awarding a centennial certificate to commercial buildings that turn 100. These buildings will be highlighted as a three-part series in this column.
Malcolm Sissons is the Chair of the Heritage Resources Committee. This article was researched and prepared by Committee Member Sally Sehn.