SLICE OF HISTORY: PIZZA CORNER'S UNTOLD STORIESmedia.muckrack.com.s3.amazonaws.com/portfolio/items/28645/Pizza... · 9/28/12 Slice of history: Pizza Corner's untold stories ... 9/28/12

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REPORTED BYJACOB BOON

PIZZA CORNER LOSING KING OF DONAIRS ANCHORIN MAYWednesday, January 18, 2012

SLICE OF HISTORY: PIZZACORNER'S UNTOLD STORIES

Pizza Corner panoramic by Aaron McKenzie Fraser

REPORTED ONOctober 17, 2011

Endless corpses: Halifax's macabre underground historyFriday, October 28, 2011

Everybody knows Pizza Corner.

Summit bigwigs attending the G-7convention in 1995 made sure to stop by

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OCCUPY KICKS OFF, NEW HALIFAX DISTRICTS ANDHIT AND ROLL ON BARRINGTONMonday, October 17, 2011

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(even taking some frozen donairs homewith them). Producers of the Blair WitchProject visited for lunch while attending theAtlantic Film Festival. Most important, it'slikely where you and your friends havewound up during some night out. PizzaCorner is Halifax's unofficial landmark atthe corners of Grafton and Blowers Street.The three corners, with three pizza shops:King of Donair, Sicilian Pizza, and theEuropean Food Shop, has been the late-night stop for hungry patrons for over thirtyyears.

It's seen violent attacks, buildings demolished, and the rise and fall of several politicians. It's apart of our town worth knowing. So, what's the story with Pizza Corner?

Grave implicationsOur downtown location, now known for donairs and poutine, was originally much more ghastlythan gastric. Both Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church, and Saint David's Presbyterian Church(which currently occupies the fourth, non-pizza corner) used to bury their dead on the landwhere Grafton and Blowers now sit. Deep under the discarded crusts and asphalt, two ofHalifax's oldest graveyards lay forgotten---a sobering thought next time you're stopping by for aslice.

The Greek connectionThe corner's gradual shift to more palatable offerings can be traced to ConstantineManolopoulos, known affectionately as Gus. Born in Greece in 1904, Gus came to Canadaduring the Great Depression, and opened the successful Sea Grill Restaurant. In 1959, Gusbought a small building at 1560 Grafton, and opened the Hillcrest Grill---the home of the futureKing of Donair franchise.

Aside from being a restauranteur, Gus was also a tireless charity worker in Halifax. Hespearheaded the Greek Canadian War Relief during World War II; efforts recognized by theKing of Greece. Gus passed away in 2000, but his son John Manolopoulos still owns theGrafton Street building his father bought 52 years ago.

That greasy Grafton location wasn't the first KoD location, though. The pizza shack chainopened on Quinpool in 1973. KoD restaurant owner Nick Garonis eventually leased the spacein Gus' building for an additional franchise, and Pizza Corner was born. Businessman, andnotable shriner, Sam Nahas purchased the KOD company back in 1990, and took the chainnational just a few years back. You may even see Sam's son, 26-year-old Andrew taking overthe company some day, though the Dal Law student interned at Boyne Clarke this pastsummer, so he might have other, more judicial plans for the future.

Ironically, KoD can't take credit for creating Canada's interpretation of the Greek "doner kebab."Brothers Peter and John Kamoulakos' Bedford Highway restaurant was serving Greek gyrosas early as 1967, but they found the traditional tzatziki sauce wasn't too popular withcustomers. The sauce was sweetened, the lamb changed to beef, and Halifax's contribution toglobal cuisine was created.

Kamoulakos would go on to found Mr. Donair, supplying donair and pizza products torestaurants up until his retirement in 2006. He used his donair dollars to purchase the building at5246 Blowers Street, where he opened the European Food Shop back in the 80s. The buildingis still in his name today, and the restaurant is owned and operated under Kamoulakos' GlenoraInvestments group.

Card sharks, pizza hawkersAside from a successful business leader, it seems Mr. Kamoulakos was also a bit of a cardshark. In 1992, he and nine other businessmen were arrested when the cops busted up aprivate backroom card game in Burnside. The flimsy charges were quickly dropped by theCrown. Funny enough, one of John's fellow players that night was long-time Halifax chef andone-time business rival Tarek Kostek.

With over 30 years' experience, Tarek ran multiple restaurants in Halifax, including the currentNorth End staple, Tarek's Cafe. For a time in the '80s, he also ran Sicilian Pizza at 5245Blowers Street.

For the last twenty years though, Sicilian has been owned by Joe Nahas, one of KoD owner

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Sam Nahas' nephews. The building itself is currently owned by Luigi and Marilisa Benigno undertheir Alessandra Investments group, but sadly it's no longer the same location where Sicilianwas born.

The original Grafton and Blowers building where Sicilian was situated was over a hundred yearsold. During the 1980s, concerned citizens nominated the spot for heritage status, but then-owner Anne McInnis opposed the idea and the grant was denied. By 1999, the building wasdeteriorating so much that then-owner Michael Argand demolished it, and replaced it with thecurrent patio-roofed Coconut Grove version seen today---the upstairs bar space is underrenovation to be another yoga studio.

Pizza Corner: "A thorn in our side"Not all of Pizza Corner's reputation is savoury, though. By Y2K, the corner was better knownfor piles of garbage covering the streets every morning. Paper plates overflowed from garbagecans, and discarded crusts became a substantial link in pigeons' and seagulls' diets. The late,great downtown revivalist Kate Carmichael, then head of the Downtown Halifax BusinessCommission, even took to the press to call the trashy situation a “thorn in (our) side for quitesome time.”

Soon enough, the litter-bug outrage, quaint as it may seem now, became a big electoral issue.Incumbent Mayor Walter Fitzgerald was looking for a good mess to clean up during his 2000 re-election campaign, and Pizza Corner's junk pile provided an easy answer. But Walter's cheezypizza crust crusade didn't win over a lot of voters, and some political commentators evensuggested it cost him the election against rookie Peter Kelly's quality of life platform, whichfocused on sensible environmental concerns (how's that coming, Pete?).

Regrettably, it wouldn't be the last time Pizza Corner dominated the news in the coming years.

Drunken fights have always been part of Halifax's hard-drinking streets, and as the Mecca oflate-night revellers, Pizza Corner was often stuck in the middle. On June 13, 1995, nearly 20men rumbled at the corner, leaving windows smashed and “blood running down the hill,”according to the next morning's Daily News. Still, those incidents seemed minor, compared themid-2000s, when violence in Halifax reached a crescendo. And Pizza Corner the crust thatroughhouse pizza baked on.

There was nothing more shocking than the court-described “barbaric” swarming of DavidConnors in 2002. Connors, chef and owner of the now-closed Dandelion Cafe on SpringGarden, brushed past another pizza corner patron, reportedly telling her to “watch (her) back,dear.” The woman gathered her friends and without provocation surrounded David, punchingand kicking him to the ground. The 51-year-old fled up to the Public Library while his attackersfollowed, throwing rocks as he ran. A cinderblock torn loose from the street hit David in theback of the head, and the resulting gash required five staples to close.

When David waved down a passing car to try and get to the hospital, his assailants swarmedthe vehicle, and tried to drag him back into the street. Only the arrival of a passing-by militarypolice car stopped the bloodshed. Deeneca Grouse, 22, received three years in prison for herrole in the assault. Laura Parnell, 36, received one year.

Multiple other attacks, hit-and-runs, and assaults in those years left the Corner with a nastyreputation, but that kind of violence was all over Halifax in the 2000s. Swarmings happened onthe waterfront, the Common, and even in broad daylight.

These incidents, along with the galvanizing murder of American sailor Damon Crooks, led toMayor Peter Kelly's “round-table on violence.” The result was 20 new police constables, publicsurveillance cameras, and a more aggressive police presence in the downtown area, as well asa brief appearance from the largely ineffectual Halifax chapter of the red-beretted GuardianAngels.

Lately, like the rest of the city, tempers have calmed at Pizza Corner and the area is living downits past reputation. Nearly 400 people can jam pack the small, steep piece of road everySaturday night, and despite problems in the past, it remains a largely good-natured, open-airparty. The debauched commune in an utterly Bacchic celebration; dancing and eating andlaughing into the wee hours of the morning.

Okay, sure, that might be gussying things up a bit much. This is a spot for the weary and thedrunk to load up on greasy foods. But it's Halifax's spot; our spot. Let's hope it stays.

Jacob Boon is a Halifax-based freelancer.



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SLICE OF HISTORY: PIZZA CORNER'S UNTOLD STORIESmedia.muckrack.com.s3.amazonaws.com/portfolio/items/28645/Pizza... · 9/28/12 Slice of history: Pizza Corner's untold stories ... 9/28/12