For 40 years, Rudy’s Catering in downtown Halifax has served customers of all stripes — and now, the owner is looking forward to what the next 40 years will bring.
Rudy Rizkallah, the eatery’s namesake, opened Rudy’s back in 1983. Before then, he had been working in the convenience store and video arcade business and said he needed a change.
“From ’76 to ’83 I was working seven days a week, 14-hour days,” he said. “So that’s how it started.”
The best part of his job, said Rizkallah, is the people he’s met.
“All kinds of different people — from office people to construction people, tourists, politicians, all the premiers since (John) Buchanan,” he said.
Rudy’s had its 40th-anniversary party Wednesday, and to mark the occasion, the store offered a “throwback menu,” with items priced like they were back in 1983.
For Wednesday only, customers were able to grab a cup of coffee for 50 cents, a cheeseburger for $1.49, and a hamburger for a jaw-dropping 99 cents.
Rizkallah said when he first opened the restaurant back in 1983, the burgers were originally $1.49 but he put them on a 99-cent special.
“I can’t remember how many burgers I sold,” he recalled. “When I went to sleep that night, I had nightmares. All the burgers were coming at me like flying saucers.”
Despite the burger-induced fever dreams, Rizkallah has no plans of slowing down.
While he doesn’t know what the future will bring, he said his son Rene will continue the restaurant’s legacy.
“It’s up to him now, but I’ll be helping him. I’m not planning on retiring, so I’ll be working with him, just guiding him through,” Rizkallah said.
He looks forward to serving the people of Halifax for years to come.
“Nova Scotians are really good people,” he said. “We enjoy the customers coming back saying, ‘We had a great meal,’ and that’s what makes it interesting working here.”
— with files from Alicia Draus
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