Thirty-five years ago or so a Greek guy showed up in the one-horse town of Walkerton and opened up a restaurant. Built up the trade, sold the place, opened up a pizza place. Built it up, sold the place...
About fifteen years ago, well into middle age, he sold everything he owned, borrowed as much money as he could, and built a new restaurant from the ground up, fifty miles south, in Elora.
The Gorge Country Kitchen.
From the day he opened it was obvious he'd hit a home run.
That's not an unusual trajectory among our Greek immigrant community. Back in the day every one-horse town had at least one Greek family that ran a restaurant.
At the Gorge, the next generation has taken over. In many cases the next generation isn't prepared for the work-load that goes with running a restaurant, and eventually the business is sold or just fades away.
But the story of the Gorge shows that folks who are willing to take some risks and work hard can still be successful in this era of fast food and corporate restaurants.
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