This ongoing series from Barrie Historical Archive curator Deb Exel shows old photos from the collection and one from the present day, as well as the story behind them.
Maude Koury’s — 126 Collier St.
Yes. There was an actual Maude Koury.
Alice Maude Jackson was born in West Hartlepool, County Durham, England, in 1899. She made her way to Canada in the fall of 1912, landing in Montreal before settling in Toronto.
When Maude, a baker, was 40, she married Aleah (Alec) Koury, 48. Koury, in the delicatessen business, had been born in 1887 in the Syrian Arab Republic. The couple had two children: Aleah Jr. and Suyrea (Siddy).
The Kourys had delis, restaurants, bakeries and candy stores while they lived in Toronto. As a youth, Aleah Jr. helped his parents in the family businesses, later joining the Canadian Armed Forces, serving until the end of the Second World War.
After he received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto, Aleah worked as an editor for the Consolidated Press until he accepted the call to ministry in 1948. As a missionary of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Denver, Colo., he met his wife, Patricia. They raised a family of five children while working as missionaries in Canada, the United States, Europe, South and Central America, Mexico and Africa.
Alice and Aleah had since moved to the Collingwood area. Aleah died in 1959.
Suyrea “Siddy,” the Kourys’ daughter, pursued a career in the restaurant business as well. She owned the Little Red Hen Restaurant in Collingwood and, in 1966, she and her husband, Ken Knapman, purchased the Craigleith train station. The Knapmans restored the old railway station, filling it with local photographs and artifacts. They opened The Depot restaurant in 1968.
Over time, the Knapmans accumulated an impressive collection of historic memorabilia of the Craigleith station, Village of Craigleith, Collingwood Township and The Depot restaurant, which was open for 32 years. It is now the Craigleith Heritage Depot: a museum, library, tourism and community hub for The Blue Mountains area.
It was also in 1966 that a widow, formerly of Collingwood, purchased a home at 126 Collier St. The land the large home sat on was once owned by wheelwright and carriage maker Richard Whitebread and later passed to his daughter, Ann, who was married to Maj. Joseph Rogers. The home at one time housed an after-hours club, the Inferno, a coffeehouse that featured a small in-house band, jukebox and dance floor.
By 1967, Maude Koury’s Steak House was considered the ultimate dining experience in Barrie. Guests could enjoy their meal in an elegant, 18th-century English- or 18th-century Canadiana-styled dining room. The restaurant was furnished with paintings, antiques, engravings and prints from Mrs. Koury’s own collection. The incredible food, refined atmosphere and genuinely warm hospitality made Maude Koury’s the go-to special occasion restaurant.
The rather ordinary red brick home took on grander proportions with the addition of an enclosed front entrance and enormous Doric columns — a facade worthy of its reputation.
In the 1960s, the Barrie Examiner ran a weekly Night on the Town contest. The winner would receive a prize package that included items such as a corsage from Harris Flowers, taxi service from Allandale Taxi, two tickets to the Roxy Theatre and perhaps a car wash from Taylor’s Texaco or a hairstyle from Ruby’s Beauty Salon. But the best part of the prize was dinner for two at Maude Koury’s.
There’s no local dispute that Maude Koury established a restaurant destination that remains legendary to those who had the good fortune to dine there. Monika and Herc Maizis carried on the Maude Koury tradition and business, creating memorable dining experiences and delicious lasting impressions for years to come.
