Tony Mouzakis, who owns Tony's Restaurant in Midland's Little Lake Park, is hanging up his kitchen apron for good.
"I want to retire. It's about time after 50 years of working," says Tony, 62.
He started working in his father's butcher shop in Greece when has 13. Tony moved to Canada when he was 23 and has worked a variety of jobs, but the majority of his working life has been in the restaurant business due to his love of food.
For the past 10 years, Tony has been working seven days a week for five months of the year. He opens the restaurant in early May and typically closes it mid- September with daily operation between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. It's a family business. Tony's partner, Demi, works with him and their children have worked at the restaurant.
Monday, Sept. 4 will be the last day of operation.
The diner's No. 1 seller is French fries, followed by poutine. They also sell hamburgers, chicken burgers, peameal bacon on a bun, fish and chips, and hard ice cream.
The restaurant is well loved in Midland. Just ask Danielle Paquette, who has been visiting weekly since Mouzakis opened it in 2014.
"I don't know if anybody else can live up to the expectations in this town," Paquette says. "They treat everybody like family. They go above and beyond for everybody. They are not just the owners of the business. They are much more."
Demi has nicknamed Paquette "the pickle girl," because she loves pickles so much.
"They have amazing food, amazing service. They always give the kids free ice cream," Paquette says.
Tony thanks his customers for their support and "the patience they show at the lineups. We give the best of ourselves to serve them. I wish to everyone good luck.
"I've made so many friends here, so many good people around. Good customers. Thank God. Everything was rolling quite good these years," he adds.
Demi says they love working in the park with its view of Little Lake.
"It's a hard job, but we have the best office in town," she says.
"I keep just the good memories. We have a nice time here. We enjoy the people. They love us and we love them," Demi adds.
Demi says customers have done many nice things for them. "They bring us things like flowers, like sweet and zucchini," she says.
Tony says one time there was a zucchini festival and someone brought them a giant zucchini. They shredded it and made zucchini balls.
Tony said once he shuts down he wants to take a trip with his wife to "refresh my mind." He also has a son and daughter in Greece and his daughter had a baby recently.
"I have to meet my granddaughter," he says.
The business is currently for sale.
