\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4150442_web1_250604-Thunderbird-Restaurant-0018.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
The Thunderbird Restaurant at 1970 McPhillips St. closed last June for unspecified reasons. A series of social media posts earlier this month announced the restaurant would be reopening.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
One of the social media posts announcing the reopening garnered more than 240 comments, with many people expressing their appreciation for the restaurant and excitement at the thought of eating there again.<\/p>\n
The feedback has been heartening, Peter Ginakes said on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe served a lot of people over the (years),\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people that have memories of the place and I think that\u2019s why it resonates that we\u2019re bringing it back. People don\u2019t like losing these things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people that have memories of the place and I think that\u2019s why it resonates that we\u2019re bringing it back. People don\u2019t like losing these things.\u201d<\/p>\n
John operated the diner with his wife, Gloria, for decades. He was known for his signature Thunderburger, Greek salads and breakfast spreads.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the restaurant\u2019s towering, yellow-and-red, T-shaped signage became a local landmark.<\/p>\n
John retired in 2013, and leased the space to tenants to keep the restaurant going. (The family kept possession of the building, which is now managed by Niata Enterprises, owned by Peter Ginakes.)<\/p>\n
The tenants closed the restaurant last June for unspecified reasons. Ginakes said his family didn\u2019t want to see the business end.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think that there (is) another chapter to be written about the Thunderbird.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family was approached by a number of people who were interested in taking over the restaurant, many of whom had one condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of them wouldn\u2019t do it unless my dad was involved, unless he was there getting them back up and running and introducing them to the people that he knew and getting them on track with the same food that we used to put out,\u201d Ginakes said. \u201cSo my dad, at 87, said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a place where everybody was welcome. It didn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re wealthy, famous or an ordinary person.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new tenants are renovating the restaurant. John is assisting with the menu and teaching staff how to prepare the food.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be very similar to what we had it as,\u201d Ginakes said. \u201cIt\u2019s got a storied history, you know? \u2026 It was a place where everybody was welcome. It didn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re wealthy, famous or an ordinary person.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Thunderbird\u2019s architecture, simple food and the memories people created there have made it a beloved diner, said Shaun Jeffrey, executive director and CEO of the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely amazing to see an icon like that reopen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s positive news at a time when Canada\u2019s restaurant industry is facing mounting financial pressure, Jeffrey added. \u201cWhen local hospitality icons like the Giankes family reinitiate a restaurant like this, it does bring some great morale to the industry as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Thunderbird will reopen in three to four weeks, Ginakes said.<\/p>\n
aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Aaron Epp Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Aaron produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Reporter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n