A restaurant with over a half-century of history in downtown Chilliwack is closing its doors this week.
After 54 years, Homer Restaurant at 46090 Yale Rd. is shutting down. Friday, June 10 is the last day.
Fotis Garoufalis, supervisor at the restaurant and nephew to owners Frank and Wanda Garoufalis, said the decision wasn鈥檛 an easy one, but 鈥渋t was time.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e over their 80s and they can鈥檛 work anymore,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e had some key members, like kitchen staff who鈥檇 been here for over 30 years, and for the same reason they retired. One of the cooks was a Greek lady who did all the preparation of our Greek meals, and another guy from the kitchen, same thing. It was impossible to replace their cooking ability.
鈥淲e all kind of got tired, so it was time to let it go.鈥�
COVID factored into it too. The pandemic knocked everyone for a loop the last two years, and the staff at Homer were no different. The restaurant stayed open for pickups and deliveries, but Fotis said that mentally, it was tough.
鈥淲ith the regulations and the vaccine passports, that was the toughest because people I personally knew since I鈥檝e been here ended up on the non-vaccinated side,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e had people calling in asking us about the passports, and when we told them we had to do that some people said things like 鈥榶ou suck鈥� or 鈥榶ou鈥檒l never see us again.鈥�
鈥淭hat made it hard on all of us.鈥�
The last two years aside, it鈥檚 been a long and fun ride for Fotis, and it鈥檚 going to be emotional saying goodbye to a place that鈥檚 been a second home to him for 33 years.
He said that up until two weeks ago it felt like business as usual.
鈥淏ut now it feels weird,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淚 know people who used to come here when they were little babies with their parents, and now they鈥榲e been coming here as adults to say goodbye and tell me who they are. I know their families and all those families were like families to us. Over the last two weeks I realize how connected we were, without really knowing it.鈥�
Fotis, 63, came to Homer in 1989.
He is planning to work all day the final day, maybe enjoying one last plate of calamari. Normally he鈥檇 drive home alone after a long shift. But in this case he鈥檚 asked his wife to be there. After closing the front door and turning the key for the last time, he said he doesn鈥檛 know how he鈥檚 going to feel.
鈥淟ots of people, I might not ever see them again,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have regulars every day that come here for lunch or dinner. We know their life stories and they know our life stories and it鈥檚 like family, and I spent more time with some of them than with my own family back home.
鈥淪o I鈥檝e been thinking a lot about how the final day is going to feel, but it will definitely be emotional.鈥�
Homer Restaurant first opened in 1968, and Fotis said it wouldn鈥檛 have lasted five-plus decades without amazing support from the community.
鈥淲e would like to thank all of our customers over the years, especially the last two years over COVID,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had some people calling every day and they鈥檙e almost crying asking us why. It鈥檚 sad, but it鈥檚 nice also to know that we鈥檙e going to be missed.鈥�
eric.welsh@hopestandard.com
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