Some restaurants stay with you long after their doors have closed. For my mother, The Club 19 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, is one of those places.

Tonight, Mom started telling me about it, and I wanted to capture her memories while the conversation was flowing.

What came back was more than a menu.

It was the kindness of the family who ran it, the music, the marble inside, the generous French fries, the fantastic milkshakes and the feeling of being young in a place she could not wait to visit again.

Mom’s First Visit to Club 19 in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Mom remembers being about twelve when she first went to Club 19.

She had been to the dentist, and a delayed bus — or some difficulty getting home — left her waiting in town.

That day became part of a much larger collection of memories: meeting someone new, trying unfamiliar food and discovering a restaurant she would return to whenever she had the chance.

She places Club 19 on the main street of Niagara-on-the-Lake, near the large clock.

Whenever she went to town, she wanted to eat there.

A Welcoming Family and a Place for Young People

Mom remembers Club 19 as a family-run restaurant. The men who served her were kind and welcoming, and she still speaks warmly about what they contributed to the town.

To a girl raised on a farm, the restaurant felt exciting and different. She was curious about unfamiliar foods and eager to discover something beyond what she already knew.

She remembers plenty of marble inside, music playing and an interior that felt perfectly suited to young people.

It was the sort of place that made her look forward to her next visit before she had finished the one she was on.

Cherry Coke and Generous French Fries

Ask Mom about the food, and certain things come back immediately.

Cherry Coca-Cola.

Great French fries — and copious amounts of them.

Corned beef on rye.

She remembers hot dogs, hot and cold sandwiches, and fish and chips, too.

In her recollection, Club 19 had the familiar appeal of a burger joint, along with food that made her curious. She remembers watching other diners enjoy Chinese dishes and wanting to try them, although she was shy about ordering something unfamiliar.

The pleasure of the place was partly in those possibilities. There was something delicious she already loved, and something else she wanted to discover.

The Milkshakes Were Fantastic

After we had been talking for a while, Mom remembered another important detail.

The shakes.

They were fantastic.

When I asked which flavors she remembered, her answer was enthusiastic: all kinds, with every different kind of fruit you could imagine.

I asked whether there had been a dedicated soda jerk making them.

No, she said. The family did it. Everyone made the shakes.

That little detail belongs in the story, too: a family working together, serving the drinks and food that people would remember decades later.

A Little Teenage Freedom

One memory made Mom laugh more than once.

They let the teenagers smoke in the restaurant.

Coming from a religious family, she found that freedom particularly memorable. She also recalls being able to buy a single cigarette — just one to smoke at lunchtime.

It is a recollection of a very different time, and one she clearly associates with the feeling of being young at Club 19.

When we talked about keeping that detail in the story, Mom had her own instruction:

“Keep it in the top drawer.”

Missing Club 19 From California

Years later, while living in California, Mom missed home.

Club 19 was part of what she missed.

She remembers dreaming about the food and wishing she could simply hop into the car, drive over and have a Cherry Coke with corned beef on rye.

That is how a restaurant becomes more than somewhere to eat.

A familiar order can hold a whole place inside it: the people who served you, the town around you and the younger version of yourself who once walked through the door.

When Mom learned that Club 19 had closed, she was deeply disappointed. She still looks for places that remind her of it.

She wishes her granddaughters could experience the place she remembers so fondly.

I never got to see it myself. Through her stories, though, I get a little glimpse.

The Club 19 in Local Historical Recollections

After listening to Mom, I looked for published references to Club 19. I found that other people have remembered it, too.

The October 31, 2019 issue of The Lake Report, on page 17, includes a Betty Lane painting of Queen and Regent streets from the fall of 1946. The accompanying caption identifies cars parked in front of a popular restaurant called The Club 19, which is outside the painting’s view.

You can see that reference in The Lake Report’s October 31, 2019 issue.

Jim Marino also names Club 19 among the old town’s remembered restaurants and businesses in his May 19, 2021 article, “Fond memories of growing up in Niagara.”

Those references provide historical context. The food, atmosphere and personal experiences described here come from Mom’s own recollections. We have not yet confirmed the restaurant’s exact opening and closing dates or the names of the family who operated it.

The Food Memories Worth Keeping

I am glad Mom told me about Club 19 tonight.

There is something special about hearing which details have stayed with her: the generosity of a plate of fries, the taste of a fruit milkshake, the kindness of the people behind the counter.

And, of course, that Cherry Coke and corned beef on rye.

A restaurant can disappear from a street and still have a place in someone’s life.

For Mom, Club 19 still does.

Explore more Real Food Memories from Cooking With Kimberly.

Do you remember The Club 19 in Niagara-on-the-Lake?

If you have memories, photographs or details about the family who ran it, we would love to hear from you in the comments.

Which long-gone restaurant do you still wish you could visit for one more meal?