From the Windsor Star, September 25, 1979. Located at 7605 Tecumseh Road East, in the Pickwick Plaza. A look at the plaza today shows the Wendy’s as being at that address in Pickwick Plaza, just east of Lauzon Parkway. The restaurant couldn’t have been around very long. Does anyone remember the place? I grew up in the Walkerville area, and didn’t spend much time on the east side, I think it may have been gone by the time I came to Windsor in 1989…
And the already busy Smitty‘s, at 7605 Tecumseh Rd. E. – in the Pickwick Place shopping plaza – plans to stay a long time.
Maria Maziak, one of the owners of the business, is a warm and enthusiastic promoter for it.
“Starting a place like this has long been a dream of mine,” she said, “but it`s been busy setting it up, getting staff, training them and opening the restaurant. “
As any restaurant patron knows, staff can make a place –or break it.
“Our waitresses are attractively uniformed.” Maria said.
“We want them to be proud to be waitresses.
“When they were interviewed for the job, I told them that if they weren’t proud of being waitresses here, to leave then.
“l think pride is very important to staff,” she added. “We co-operate with our staff and want a good relationship to continue.”
Her partner, Lew Jones, also stressed choice of staff and training.
‘We’ve been very selective.” he said. I’m sure it will pay off by helping the restaurant develop and keep the business it should.”
Smitty’s is a member of a Canadian chain with headquarters in Calgary. Through the head office, it receives certain supplies, recipes for pancakes and standards for quality control, but the business itself is owned by Maria and Lew.
Pancakes occupy the star place on the colorful menus For (sic) statisticians – and for Windsor pancake-lovers – the menu offers I5 varieties, of which buttermilk, potato, banana and southern pecan are just four.
The menu also boasts a selection of waffles – 10 different types are listed – as well as eggs and omelettes, sandwiches, steaks, cutlets and other dinners.
“The restaurant will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” Maria said.
“We expect this to be a high volume outlet as we get better known and business develops.” Lew added.
The restaurant has a seating capacity of 138 and a staff of about 55 to meet its customers’ demands.
But it won’t be Windsor’s only pancake house for long. A competitor, the International House of Pancakes, is now building a restaurant in on Tecumseh Road just east of Lauzon Road.
“That’s beautiful,” said Maria. “ln business, you must have competition.
“But l don’t think they’ll be a match for us.” she challenged.
**As a side note, there have been errors in spelling via my OCR scanner lately, but in the article above, there were several quotes that were never closed. That poor grammar, is not an error and is courtesy of the 1979 Windsor Star. 🙂
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I remember Smitty's (don't think I ever ate there though) - my guess is that it was around until the mid to late 80s. Didn't know Windsor ever had an IHOP though!
then again...could the IHOP have been that triangular building that hosted a string of short-lived restaurants before finally becoming Enterprise Rent-a-car?
yes i remember that place!! heeeeee they got rid of it and built wendys there now lol i went there for pancakes..........sooooo good !! yes back in the 80's for sure lol
Smitty's was there for 10 years max. Ate there a few times, it was a typical family restaurant.
Yes the IHOP was where Enterprise Rent a Car is now. It didn't last very long either. There have been various restaurants in that location. Bubby's, Rumors Steakhouse, an Italian place. None of these lasted very long.
We came home from a family vacation, having eaten at a Smitty's somewhere for the first time, to find the new one in Windsor. We ate there on a weekend morning from time to time but I always liked IHOP better once it opened. It was awhile before I realized Smitty's had gone since our patterns had changed by then and we'd moved west.
There's a Smitty's in Chatham now but I don't like it much. The food is low end ordinary and the service is bad. The only time we go is when the club we belong to holds meetings in their "banquet" room and even the club has begun venturing elsewhere. The restaurant seems to focus (read rely) on seniors in for early dinner on the cheap. They have a weekend brunch but I wasn't impressed the one time we tried it. There are pancakes on the menu still but it doesn't seem at all like a "pancake house".
On the topic of short lived restaurants (aqnd breakfast), anyone recall Granny Smith's on Ouellette, just north of Wyandotte on the west side? I liked it and their cheese bread, available from the bakery side, was to die for. It eventually succumbed to one of the many suspicious Windsor fires and had been languishing long before since location was against it, I suppose.
Even further back in time was Biff's, a NY style place on the ground floor of the old Viscount and later another location downtown on Ouellette that outlived the first. I had steak and eggs for breakfast for the first time at the original location, coming off midnights at Hotel Dieu, and that's still my favourite breakfast out treat.
I wonder if IHOP still exists in the States? We're going west through the states in a week or so and I could really get into a plate of their cheese blintzes!
near the end smitty's had the best broasted chicken,little more money than kfc but well worth it. The old IHOP was at little river and north side of tecumseh rd..That location made it hard to enter the parking lot due to traffic flow on tecumseh,almost impossible to make a left turn eastbound on tec..i always thought thats why no resturant ever had any success there and alot have tried. I went there alot when it was called brunchners..bottomless cup of coffee for 50 cents and was open 24hrs like smitty's was.
Clare - IHOP is still around in the US. If you are really in the mood, there's one on East Jefferson just outside of downtown Detroit. As well as many locations in the Metro Detroit area.
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Yes, the building currently occupied by Enterprise car rentals started life as an IHOP. Several restaurants have come and gone in that building. Last time I was in there was 10+ years ago when it was a Top Hat. As others have said it's a bad location for traffic egress and I'm sure it's even worse now with all the car dealerships in the area.
I remember the Smitty's at Pickwick but I can't say that I ever went there.
recall the smitys but don't think i ever ate there but! remember the IHOP near little river if younwent there either to eat or just have a coffee they would leave a pot on your table
Clare i remember granny smiths on ouellette i used to go there religiouly with my girlfriend a bowl of soup and one of their sandwichs on that thick bread they baked now that was a meal i was really sad when it burned in that fire