From the same Windsor Tourist Guide of 1954, comes this ad that has been posted on this site previously. It was last posted back in 2008. But that was five years ago, and it is an interesting ad, that is now 49 years old. There aren’t too many restaurants in Windsor still serving up dishes after a half century…
Cartier Place? Is that now Freedom Way? When did the tunnel exit change from Maiden Lane, to Park St.?
Bring back the old signage, much better than what they have now.
…and it is good once again that Thom is behind the wheelhouse. Glad he is back, the food is much better than it was the last few years.
Anyone know when the Tunnel BBQ was originally built?
I believe 1941 Bonnie.
It’s a terrible shame the place had a devastating flood over the weekend.
They will most likely be shut down for months.
Parker Construction (a local company) has the job thank God.
Hi Bonnie
I remember it being there when I was about….7or 8 yrs.old and that’s a loooong time ago. You know how long ag
o it is .
The exit for bus passengers was off Ouellete until Transit Windsor took over when the tunnel corp. ceased bus service. The car exit was always on to Park St. Check posts from last fall showing opening ceremony.
Anybody else have a sudden urge for ribs and some kind of cream pie for dessert? Math says 59 years. Only reason I know is due to the fact there is a direct co-relation between the age of this ad and my age!
Over 70 years in business according to their website.
72 to be exact.
My first transfer to Windsor in the summer of 1950 I took my first meal there.
The ribs with the works was a big surprise to me: $2.95. (I never forget a bargain, even if it was 62 years ago, ha ha)
I made the wooden menus they used in the mid-1970’s through 80’s.
I cut the wood, stained them, burned all the edges of the paper menus, then laminated to the boards and lacquered them – probably a good 150 menus in total. One of the many jobs I did in my first job out of college, but that one was great because I could show them off proudly every time my friends and I would frequent the restaurant after late night band gigs throughout those years. Anyone remember those wooden menus?
My dad who worked at the Windsor Armouries during the 1950’s, used to have lunch there almost every weekday, along with some buddies.
Yikes! Talk about memories coming back. I recall going to the Tunnel Bar-B-Q after high school dance dates. They had great burgers and delicious desserts. Thanks for the memories!
Thanks for the info everyone. I have great memories of the Tunnel BBQ too..went there with my future husband for a celebration dinner after we were engaged!And that was 46 years ago:)
Hi “Corliss”..just saw your post..arf arf!
and dont forget the almond cream crunch pie. a dessert not found anywhere else in this world. its a dessert that you missed out BIG TIME if you havent had it. it was automatic to order almond cream crunch pie with my rib dinner. i like to dabble in the kitchen to reproduce my favourite recipes, but almond cream cruch pie will be an adventure.
I grew up in Windsor in the 1950’s and 1960’s and remember the Tunnel Bar-B-Q from driving by it many times, but never visiting it. I have lived in Ottawa since. In a visit back to Windsor in April 2013, I at long last ate at the Tunnel-Bar-B-Q. I loved the decor, the food and the serving staff, all of whom seemed to have been the way they were thirty or forty years ago. I noticed, however, that most of the clientele were close to my vintage. I hope that Windsor City Council can see the need to rejuvenate the city’s downtown, so that places like the Tunnel Bar-B-Q become known and enjoyed by a younger generation.