Very soon, those craving Amber Garden cabbage rolls or perogies will be out of luck
After more than 25 years and untold perogies, Czeslaw and Asia Nowacki are retiring from the Polish restaurant business
When Czeslaw and Asia Nowacki lock the doors of the Amber Garden & Dalmacia restaurant on May 31, there will be a hole in Ottawa the size of Eastern Europe.
For more than a quarter century, they have served the traditional fare of their native Poland, as well as that of other Central and Eastern European countries. Soon, however, customers hankering for their perogies, cabbage rolls, schnitzels and borscht will have to forage elsewhere: with the Nowackis' retirement, the restaurant will close.
“It's time,” Czes says. He and Asia, 64 and 62 respectively, have numerous plans in store, including selling their Sandy Hill home and moving to a quieter setting on the Quebec side of the river, where they can pick mushrooms and blueberries, improve their French and travel.
“We love this job and put our hearts into it and built a beautiful clientele,” he adds. “What we've done is the best I could wish to anyone. Our customers feel like they're coming home when they dine here.”
That last point is not hyperbole. Online reviews from customers routinely praised the food, service and atmosphere. “If you are very, very lucky,” wrote one, “you ... have a Grandma who cooks like (the) lady in the kitchen.” “They made us feel like we were in their home, not a restaurant,” said another.
Over time, they befriended many customers, as Asia, using recipes she learned as a child from her mother in the southern hills of Poland, repeatedly tempted them back.
“We didn't try to please everyone,” admits Czes. “But we were devoted to doing a good job, to make sure we made the best product that we could.”
They were in their 20s when they defected to Canada in 1977, landing in Hamilton with their daughter, Kasia, in tow. They settled in nearby Welland, where their son, Robert, was born. Asia eventually taught microbiology at Brock University, while Czes found work in the metallurgy field as an engineer.
A decade later, they moved to Ottawa and changed careers. They bought Polonus restaurant on Rideau Street, beside the By-Towne Cinema, and soon moved to a larger location in the Market Mall. When CHUM radio's arrival in the late ' 90s forced them to close Polonus, the Nowackis were already established at their second location, Amber Garden, on Richmond Road.
In 2006, after realizing they wouldn't be able to buy their building, they bought the smaller Dalmacia restaurant on Carling Avenue and moved there.
While their menu has leaned to the traditional, their practices haven't. They tried switching to an all-organic menu nearly two decades ago, only to discover too few choices for ingredients and a public then unprepared to pay that sort of markup. They were among the first to ban smoking, two years before the city bylaw was enacted in 2001.
“We weren't afraid of new ideas,” says Czes, “and I don't think we lost any business. In fact, I think we gained.”
Customers quickly embraced the menu. At the first Taste of Ottawa food event in the mid-'90s, the couple sold more than 10,000 perogies. Trends to lighter foods, meanwhile, appeared not to affect them. Most of their dishes, Czes explains, are lean. “Of course,” he says, “some dishes, such as goulashes, are richer, but goulash with potato pancakes is one of our top three dishes.
“The food we serve is just of superior quality.”
They confess to being sentimental as they approach retirement. But their wistfulness is tinged by the excitement of new things to come, much like when they left secure jobs 27 years ago to open their first restaurant.
“It's difficult,” says Czes, “but we're looking forward to a new stage in life, while we're still healthy and can enjoy things.”