Cantor's - Celebrating 75 Years

CONGRATULATIONS ONYOUR 70YEARSOF QUALITYPRODUCTS &CUSTOMER SERVICE! info@ambrosielighting.ca www.ambrosielighting.com LightingMaintenance (Interior&Exterior) ElectricalContracting (CommercialBuildings) EnergyManagement 204-982-9100 Cantor'sGrocery Congratulationson70years fromourfamilytoyours. Page 4 A Winnipeg institution for 70 years, Cantor's Quality Meats & Groceries is a true family business — not just for three generations of owners, but for long-time staff and loyal customers who've made shopping here a family tradition. Christine Gastl Belcourt has worked at the store for 15 years, starting when it was on Gallagher Avenue just behind the new store at 1445 Logan Ave., but her history with Cantor's goes way back. She was going on 13 and had just arrived from Germany when she first stepped inside 50 years ago. "When I came to Canada in 1964, the second day I was here I came to the old store with my mom," she says. It was the start of a long and happy relationship that continues today under third-generation manager Ed Cantor, whose late father Joe Cantor and uncle Oscar Cantor took over the reins after their own father, also named Edward, died back in 1944. Gastl Belcourt says there were other grocers her family could have frequented while she was growing up, but Cantor's was an independent neighbourhood business and twin brothers Joe and Oscar were local fixtures. "They were always here with the birds. They were very nice men — they had a heart of gold," she says. "And they had quality meats." That tradition continues, too. On a quiet weekday morning, most of the aisles are almost empty. But the meat counter at the west end of the store is bustling, with a dozen shoppers in the aisle and half a dozen staff filling orders and working in the butcher shop. Ed Cantor says the store employs about 50 staff, many of whom were brought on after he, Joe and Oscar undertook a major expansion in 2009 to accommodate all those loyal customers who used to pack the old store on busy Saturdays. They increased space from 3,700 square feet to 13,500 square feet and turned the site of the old store — originally a house that underwent several expansions over the years — into a parking lot. Gastl Belcourt has been called the "meat department mom," and if there's a patriarch, it's butcher Manfred Thaller. Originally from Austria, Thaller has been working at Cantor's for 39 years, and he's been serving some of the same customers since he first tied on his apron in 1975. "It's like a home. I know most of the customers coming in," Thaller says, adding that even if he doesn't know a customer's name, he recognizes them and he knows what they want. "Most people, I know exactly what they're buying." Thaller is proud to say that Cantor's meat is not prepackaged — it's cut onsite, the old-fashioned way. The store gets three deliveries of beef each week from local ranchers in Beausejour and McCreary, and customers can get everything from a few ounces of fresh hamburger to a side of beef, butchered and delivered to their homes or businesses. If they're looking for economical cuts such as pork buttons, beef liver or sausage — some of which Thaller makes himself — there's plenty on offer. And if they want a two-inch-thick steak, they can get it cut to order. Thaller says the store is his "place of entertainment." He enjoys the people on both sides of the meat counter, and so does his wife Christine, who comes to the store every day. While she's not an employee, she usually cleans the coffee room and spends some time socializing with staff before doing a bit of shopping and heading home with her husband at the end of the day. Gastl Belcourt's daughters are now third-generation Cantor's customers, and her husband Dennis Sinclair is well-acquainted with the store as well, having worked there as a young man. "I think three quarters of Weston worked here when they were teenagers," she says. Ed Cantor started working at the store at the age of 13 or 14, stocking shelves and bagging groceries, and when he finished school, he decided to stay on. For the past four years, his wife Heather has been handling accounts payable and receivable, but Cantor's celebrates 70 Years A family tradition for three generations of owners — and customers By Pat St. Germain For the Free Press

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