It’s no accident that Wilensky’s was immortalized in Mordecai Richler’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. And it’s purported that Wilensky’s is the only purveyor in Canada of that famed Brooklyn Egg Cream libation, which contains no eggs or cream but rather chocolate syrup, soda water and milk. Wilensky’s sodas are even made from scratch with syrups. Everything about it is original - and oh-so-quirky. There are few places as woven into the city’s cultural fabric as Wilensky’s. Article content Countermen Scott Druzin and Paul Scheffer, left, work the grills as Asher Wilensky keeps an eye on things, right, at the iconic dinner Wilensky’s in Montreal on April, 28, 2022. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Rounding out the team are longtime countermen Scott Druzin and Paul Scheffer. With the passing of Ruth four years ago, Sharon and Asher are still behind the counter, as is a fourth-generation Wilensky, Alisa, daughter of Asher. When Moe died in 1984, it was left to his no-nonsense bride, Ruth, to keep the business going with her sons, Asher and Bernard - who died in 2000 - and daughter Sharon. and ceased with the scissors and stogies to focus solely on the Wilensky Specials. In 1952, Moe moved down the street on Fairmount Ave. While Harry did trims in the back, his son Moe focused on the deli in front. Not following any known business model, Harry started with a deli-cum-cigar emporium-cum-barber shop. Its beginnings couldn’t have been more unassuming, and few back then would have ever predicted its longevity. Wilensky’s is among the oldest family-run restos around, not just in Montreal but in the entire country. It will take a lot more than COVID-19 to kill this place. The only reminder of what was the masks worn by the staff and entering customers, and the Plexiglas shield over the counter. Sharon acknowledges that Wilensky’s had its challenges over the last two years due to the pandemic, and it even had to close for two months. “From what I’ve been able to determine, ‘light lunch’ back then meant fast lunch,” said Sharon, who happens to be a vegetarian - save for the few occasions she falls off the wagon to nibble on a mouthwatering karnatzel, which contains no known veggies or anything else of nutritional value. Sharon Wilensky, the granddaughter of the eatery’s founder, Harry Wilensky, offers an explanation for the “light lunch.” The retro eatery marks its 90th anniversary on Sunday, largely thanks to its not-so-light Special, a highly addictive yet cholesterol-laden amalgam of fried salami and bologna served with a dab of mustard on an unassuming bun. Yet its official name has somehow stuck: Wilensky’s Light Lunch.

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