Nothing changes at Winnipeg landmark Rae and Jerry’s – except ownership

The owner of an iconic Winnipeg restaurant says even though he’s stepping away from the business, it’s not going anywhere.

Rae and Jerry’s Steak House, a Portage Avenue landmark since 1957, is in the process of changing hands, longtime owner Steve Hrousalas told 680 CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg.

“I bought the place when I was 30. I’m now 79… I thought, ‘I’ve had a great run, let’s get it done’,” Hrousalas said.

“I’m fortunate enough to have been able to pass it on to three fine gentlemen — two from Winnipeg — so it’s going to be staying as Rae and Jerry’s Steak House for probably another 49 years.”

Hrousalas said the new owners have assured him they intend to keep the restaurant — famous for its frozen-in-time retro decor — much as it has been during his half-century tenure as owner.

The fact that times change but Rae and Jerry’s doesn’t, Hrousalas said, is part of the steak house’s lasting appeal.

“Nothing changes — we just keep moving along,” he said. “I think each generation follows each other. They know that when they get here, everything stays the same. The food quality stays the same. Nothing seems to change, we just tweak everything.”

As a result, Rae and Jerry’s — initially opened downtown by founders John Rae and Jerry Hemsworth in 1939 before moving to its current spot near Omand’s Creek in the ’50s — became a local hotspot, known as much as a place where important Winnipeg deals were made over lunch as a prime location for celebrity sightings.

“I could tell you about a lot of deals that went down at Rae and Jerry’s, especially at lunchtime,” Hrousalas said.

“You’d see two gentlemen sitting in the booth, I’d know who they were… and three or four days later, it was in the news that the deal went down at Rae and Jerry’s.”

The restaurant has also hosted sports and entertainment luminaries like Wayne Gretzky and John Candy, politicians such as former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and catered a meal for Princess Anne during a royal visit to Manitoba.

“There’s been a lot of people coming in through the restaurant,” he said. “The Blue Bombers, at one time, used to have their pre-game lunches here.”

And while Hrousalas is headed toward retirement as the restaurant changes hands, he says he’s glad that his decision to buy the place from its original owners all those decades ago paid off, and turned Rae and Jerry’s into a local icon.

“I was 30 years old… I was single. I didn’t know any better. I cold-called Johnny Rae… and I think at that time (the owners) were 61 and 65. I asked if they wanted to sell, they said yes, and 11 months later, I bought the restaurant… and like I said to everybody, I was dumb enough to leave everything alone.”

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