Good Eats: The Senator Restaurant
The Busy Bee Lunch
Victoria Street, looking south from Dundas Street east. Visible is the rear of Pantages Theatre and The Salvation Army Working Men’s Hotel. c. 1929-1930. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.
Senator Restaurant, 249 Victoria Street, c. 1950s. Courtesy of The Senator Restaurant.
Interior of the Senator Restaurant, 249 Victoria Street, date unknown. Courtesy of The Senator Restaurant.
Exterior of The Senator Restaurant, 249 Victoria Street, date unknown. Courtesy of The Senator Restaurant.
The Busy Bee Lunch
Located at 249 Victoria Street, The Senator Restaurant is among the oldest continuously operating restaurants in Toronto. Opened as the Busy Bee Lunch in the late 1920s by Robert Angeloff, the casual diner served the nearby theatre district of early twentieth century Toronto. Close to Massey Hall (built 1894) and the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres (built 1913), as well as several other vaudeville stages, the Busy Bee Lunch was part of a growing collection of restaurants in the area, hoping to entice audience members to stop in before or after a show for a bite to eat. Built as a two-storey private residence in the nineteenth century, 249 Victoria had served several purposes prior to becoming the Busy Bee, including a home to a Toronto chapter of the Salvation Army. Angeloff converted the ground floor of the building into the Busy Bee in the 1920s, living on the second floor above the restaurant.
A 1940s redesign
In its early years, the Busy Bee operated as a lunch counter, a popular restaurant format in late nineteenth and early twentieth century North America. Usually organized around an open kitchen and a long counter at which most customers sat, the format was popular in urban areas as a relatively quick and affordable place to eat outside the home. Most relied on a brisk lunch business, with menus that emphasized hot coffee, cold sodas, and freshly made burgers and sandwiches. By the 1930s, Angeloff had sold the Busy Bee Lunch to Macedonian brothers, Luke and Vangel Eftimoff, who owned and operated the Busy Bee as a successful lunch counter for over a decade. In the late 1940s, an entrepreneurial cook at the Busy Bee, George Nicolau, bought the business and in 1948 changed its name to one it would carry for the next 80 years: The Senator Restaurant.
The Senator Restaurant
As part of the name change, Nicolau invested in a thorough redesign of 249 Victoria Street, including the installation of the latest kitchen technology of the day: an electric refrigeration system. Nicolau hired Jouke Van Sloten, designer for the Toronto Refrigeration Fixtures Company, to design and install the system, along with a redeveloped back bar. The emblem of the Refrigeration Company can still be seen on The Senator’s fixtures today. In 1949, Nicolau also took the opportunity to apply for one of the first liquor licenses available in Toronto, converting the lunch counter into a more formal restaurant, offering customers the option to enjoy a cocktail with its new evening dinner service.
A Toronto legacy
In 1964, The Senator passed to the next generation of George Nicolau’s family. His son, Nick Nicolau, took over as chef, with George’s nephew, Cecil Djambazis, working as waiter and manager. In April 1984, Robert (Bobby) Sniderman purchased The Senator Restaurant. Son of Sam Sniderman, owner of the famous record store, Sam the Record Man, Bobby Sniderman expanded the business, opening an outpost of The Senator Restaurant at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. Sniderman also spearheaded the renovation and reopening of The Senator’s second floor: today known as Top O’The Senator. During the renovation, much of the building’s original 1860s details were uncovered and preserved. Today, the second floor functions as a private events space as well as venue for live music performances.
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