Mother’s Day may never be the same for some Central Albertans.
The CheeseToast Family Restaurant, where countless moms have been treated to brunch over the years, closed on Oct. 31.
It and the Wolf Creek Inn — which shared a building on the west side of Hwy 2 near Lacombe — now await demolition, with a sale of their equipment and fixtures set for next Tuesday.
“Our biggest seating ever was 1,410 people on a Mother’s Day about three years ago,” said Lorne Bick, who had operated the restaurant and hotel since 1999.
Customer volumes fell off after media reports in 2007 that the province had purchased the site — and Grumpy’s Truck Stop further south — to accommodate highway expansion.
“That cut our business in half,” said Bick, who doesn’t have to vacate the property until next spring but decided against operating through the winter.
The hotel and restaurant date back to 1962, when Marwood and Ollie Swain opened the business as Juniper Lodge.
Their son Berry said Marwood previously owned four gas stations with restaurants along Hwy 2A, but decided to move after Hwy 2 was built.
He enjoyed collecting fossils and carving juniper roots, said Berry, with the results of both in ample display at the lodge.
“That was kind of the theme for it.”
Juniper Lodge’s decor also had a mining focus, said Bick.
“All the lamps in the restaurant were old coal miners’ lanterns that were converted to electric lights,” he said, adding that a “miners tree” outside displayed various mining tools.
Berry recalls hundreds of people gathering at the lodge on Sundays to enjoy ice-skating, snowmobiling, hayrides and other activities.
“I know my mother used to pull a hay rack around there with an old four-wheel drive they had. They kind of catered to that Sunday afternoon crowd.”
The property eventually changed hands, and passed through a number of owners before the Vold family of Ponoka acquired it in 1995. Bick later took over through a lease agreement.
He decided the restaurant needed to become a destination rather than depend on highway travellers, many of whom left their wallets in their vehicles.
“We’re the first pit stop south of Edmonton that you can see on the road, so our bathrooms were always busy.”
Bick converted the restaurant to a CheeseToast franchise and developed a reputation for big portions and tasty ribs and cheesetoast.
“Our Sunday brunches were very busy; Mother’s Days were just unbelievable.”
Another appeal of the restaurant was its proximity to Juniper Lake and the abundance of wildlife in the area.
“We’ve had moose here, we’ve had deer here, we’ve had cougars here,” said Bick. “I’ve had gophers and squirrels in the restaurant. I’ve had rabbits come in the door on me. I had a snake come in once.”
Evidence of the mining theme remains, including a two-metre high statue carved out of a tree trunk that depicts a man carrying a fatally injured boy out of a mine.
“It was done as a tribute to all of the coal miners who were killed in Alberta between 1919 and 1930,” said Bick.
Another prominent feature was a “Tree of Hope” at the front of the hotel. Its decorations changed to mark the approach of special days like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Canada Day and Halloween.
“We probably had $10,000 worth of Christmas decorations,” said Bick.
With about 170 seats in the restaurant, an outdoor patio and 20 rooms in the hotel, staff peaked at about 27 employees.
Bick was helped by his wife Kerry and their three sons. The couple and their youngest son continue to live on the site.
“I’ve got two weeks to find a home,” said Bick, adding that it will be tough to leave the scenic setting.
“I could stand out my back door and throw a rock into the lake.”
Even harder will be seeing the building come down.
“I’m not going to watch.”
Next week’s sale, which starts at 10 a.m., will be conducted by Montgomery Auction Services.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com