Mayflower Restaurant to close after 35 years
Elgin Street eatery channels mid-20th century small-town atmosphere
The Mayflower Restaurant and Pub on Elgin Street will serve its last pint in October.
The establishment, which dropped anchor at the corner of Elgin and Cooper streets more than 35 years ago, is set to close in October.
Owner Walter Krepski, 84, said lease negotiations led to the decision, though he is unwilling to say more. “Certain issues have not been settled yet.”
Furnished with booths, suspended glass lights and woodgrain panelling, the Mayflower looks like a small-town restaurant of the 1950s or ’60s. It’s an old-fashioned style that is quickly disappearing.
“That’s one of the landmarks in Ottawa,” says Ottawa artist Andrew King. “A hangout. A place to go for a cheap breakfast, quick lunch, or at night if you want to grab something.”
Elgin Street has had its ups and downs, says Krepski, but business is good.
“The Mayflower holds its own,” he says. “People like the atmosphere.”
For one, it does a rollicking breakfast trade. In warm weather, the outdoor patio beneath a canvas canopy provides an inviting spot to linger. The menu offers classics such as burgers, sandwiches, and fish and chips.
A nautical theme characterizes the tiny pub in the back: stained glass depicts the Mayflower on the door, and framed pictures of ships render the gold-flocked wallpaper barely visible. An interior of dark wood, maroon-padded booths and tin ceiling creates a cosy feel.
On busy nights, patrons squeeze past tight convivial groups to order at the bar, which sparkles with glass and polished brass. The barman pulling pints wears a black suit and white shirt.
Over the years, Parliament Hill, the National Arts Centre, and the surrounding Centretown neighbourhood have supplied a stable of regulars. Sen. Mike Duffy was a familiar face. Luciano Pavarotti, the late Italian opera star, dropped in for a bite.
Kreps0ki, an immigrant from Poland who stowed away on a cargo ship to flee that country’s communist regime in 1949, bought the restaurant in 1977 with partners Alfred Friedman and Joe Ages. They assumed the name and furnishings of the previous establishment. “Some of the furniture is still there from maybe 40 years ago,” says Krepski.
In 1979, when they added the pub, it was one of the first English-style pubs in Ottawa. Here, various projects were hatched over friendly conversation and drinks. For example, in 1988, a group of patrons published The Mayflower Cookbook with recipes such as “Oh, give me a host who will buffalo roast ...”
When a customer who used a motorized wheelchair found it difficult to open the door to get into the pub, the Mayflower management installed a doorbell for him.
Rumours of the Mayflower’s closing have spread online, prompting one former customer to write: “Goodbye old friend.”