Ed Edmonton’s Bistro Praha bistro is a place to start

Edmonton s Bistro Praha is one of the rare places to find a formula that has ensured longevity in a difficult business.

Restaurants that are Institutions as Much as Places to Dine are at the restaurants that are institutions.

Most of them, perhaps all of them, will never attracted the attention of critics from the Michelin Guide. Their d cor is usually modest, as are their prices. They have found a magic combination of distinctive food, great service and friendly atmosphere that has given them longevity in a business known for short life spans.

A few years ago, I wrote about a defining example, the Hoito, in Thunder Bay, Ontario. A fire in the Finnish Labour Temple last year leveled it. I am currently in Edmonton, on my second trip in a few weeks. It is a city I reported from fairly regularly before the Pandemic. I am embarrassed to admit that it wasn't until I came to cover Pope Francis'visit late last month that I discovered one of its local institutions: Bistro Praha. It is doubly embarrassing because Bistro Praha is close to both of the hotels where I usually stay in the city. Its most recently opened location, just off Jasper Avenue, is not auspicious. It is located on the ground floor of an office block, which is wedged between a pizza place, a transit station entrance and a vacant storefront that once housed a Starbucks before the epidemic.

At the end of a long shift waiting tables on Thursday night, Milan Svajgr, who now owns Bistro Praha with Alena Bacorsky, his partner in life and business, sat down with me to talk about its history. Frantisek Cikanek, founder, had no real restaurant experience when he started Bistro Praha in 1977. He was dismayed to be unable to find the kind of cafe he had frequented in his native Czechoslovakia in Edmonton, so he opened one. Within a couple of years, it became a full restaurant with the same menu it has today. In the beginning, Bistro Praha has been a hangout for musicians, actors and artists, and was involved in the city's music scene. It stayed open until 2 a.m. for most of its early years to accommodate their late hours. That connection to celebrity has led to a curious practice at the restaurant, starting with Kirk Douglas many years ago, when he was locked up, he was startled by the fact that celebrities from the arts and sports worlds began autographing the undersides of its bentwood chairs. Ms. Mitchell sat near the front window the other night.

There have been setbacks. Ms. Svajgr died in 2019, at the age of 53. Thirteen years ago, a fire in another business above the bistro's original location forced it to close for two years before it moved to its current spot. The furniture, including the autographed chairs, was salvaged by Mr. Svajgr. A customer donated a second copy of the enormous photographic mural of a mountain scene that has dominated both locations. It is in Switzerland, not in Central Europe. Like many restaurant owners, Mr. Svajgr exhausted his savings to keep the restaurant open during the epidemic. He told me that he never considered quitting. He said it was a lifestyle to be able to run this place. It is really interesting and I really like it. The restaurant business isn't going to make you rich. Does your community have a restaurant that is a local institution? Please tell me about it by email and include your full name and where you live so that I can credit you, should we mention your favorite spot.