#finnish labour temple

[jazzeria]

(I’m going back through my drafts and posting unfinished drafts.  This one was from back in Nov 2016.)  

More pancakes at the Hoito. 

I think no trip to Thunder Bay will ever be complete without a visit here. 

[jazzeria]

The Hoito, Finnish restaurant, in Thunder Bay, ON. 

My first time at the Hoito, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  It was busy, it was bustling, it was crowded and noisy.  Service is a bit slow, as patrons must rely on the attentiveness of circulating servers.  It feels homey.  

I ordered “The Big 2″, consisting of: 2 lättyjä (Finnish crepe-style pancakes), 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausages, and substituted the usual toast for hashbrowns.  The pancakes are enormous, and taste like they’re cooked in bacon fat, mmmmm... Coffee was mediocre, but I think we really just came here for the pancakes.  

I enjoyed rolling up the sausage/bacon in a pancake, and dipping my bites in syrup. 

The Hoito Restaurant

The Hoito was established in 1918, and is perhaps the oldest cooperatively owned and operated restaurant in Canada.  

The idea for the restaurant came about in a logging camp outside of Nipigon.  Finnish bush workers at Kallio's camp were concerned that, while they could find cheap lodging in Thunder Bay, they couldn't find reasonably priced home-cooked meals.  The request to open a co-operative restaurant was taken to the Board of Directors of the Finnish Labour Temple andw as approved.  Fifty-nine people pooled their money into $5.00 "Comrade loans" and hired union organizer A. T. Hill as the restaurant's first manager.  

The Finnish Labour Temple

Built in 1910 by the Finnish Building Company Limited using the design of C W Wheeler, this unique building features the central polygonal tower supported by columns, the domed glassed-in cupola and two-sided oriel windows on the facade.  Intended as a community meeting place, it originally housed a theatre, a library and a reading room.  

Now a National Historic Site, this building stands today as Thunder Bay's first community auditorium and home of the world famous Hoito Restaurant!  

[Wikipedia] [Facebook]