The history of the in-store diners at Zellers in Ontario

If you grew up in Ontario between the 1960s and early 2000s, chances are a Saturday family shopping trip at Zellers almost always meant a detour to the in-house diner, called The Skillet, or later, the Zellers Family Restaurant.

You might've slid into one of the diners' classic red vinyl booths or bubbly green seats after begrudgingly following your parents through the discount store's many aisles, only to be rewarded with a towering basket of fries and gravy, a milkshake, or even that double-stacked Big Z Burger.

As evidenced by the ever-recurring social media posts and forums discussing the restaurants' lore decades later, shoppers still haven't forgotten the smell of the griddle or those incredible hot dogs in a basket, even after all these years.

Photo: Digital Archives of Ontario.

The Zellers department store was first founded in 1931, many years before the first in-house diner appeared. In 1978, Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) purchased the chain and operated it as the discount division of its Hudson's Bay stores.

During its peak in the late 1990s, Zellers grew to roughly 350 locations across Canada, with many stores throughout Ontario featuring in-house restaurants.

The brand's in-store dining concept officially launched in 1960 under the name The Skillet, and later evolved into the Zellers Family Restaurant. Over the years, the decor shifted from 1950s-style to bubbly green vinyl seats and checkered floors, but always remained casual.

Photo: Old Canada Series.

The wallet-friendly menu featured a long list of mouthwatering staples, including the legendary Big Z Burger, which came with two five-ounce beef patties, stacked with crispy bacon, processed cheese, tomato, lettuce, and red onion.

Other nostalgic favourites include the golden French fries with gravy, the all-day breakfast, extreme cheese chicken quesadilla, Big Z rings (sweet Spanish onions in crispy breading), poutine, and the 3D Club Sandwich — a triple-decker tower filled with oven-roasted turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato between Texas bread.

Photo: Old Canada Series.

Milkshakes, grilled cheese, chicken fingers, and the famed hot chicken sandwich rounded out the menu, which was designed for families who were looking for a delicious, simple, and most importantly, affordable lunch during mid-shop pit stops.

As shopping patterns shifted, so too did the popularity of Zellers, and its downfall came about rather quickly. In 2011, HBC announced that it would sell most of its remaining Zellers leases to Target Corporation, and just two years later, the majority of stores (diners included) were closed.

A handful of Zellers locations continued to operate as liquidation outlets until 2020, but that was long after the chain's restaurant era had already ended.

However, in 2023, as HBC prepared to relaunch the Zellers brand in multiple Hudson's Bay stores in a smaller 10,000-square-foot format, a wave of nostalgia pulled the chain's in-house restaurants back into conversation.

Photo: Old Canada Series.

Although the company acknowledged that there was no space to house full-scale restaurants, it did propose offering its nostalgic menu items through Zellers Diner food trucks.

Before the trucks hit the road, Zellers ran a nationwide Instagram poll asking shoppers to vote on which retro menu item they would like to see return. Out of 10 choices, five dishes came out on top, and unsurprisingly, the number one pick was the iconic Big Z Burger, followed by the hot chicken sandwich, grilled cheese, chicken fingers, and, who could forget, classic fries with gravy.

The revamped Zellers fries and gravy in 2023. Photo: Fareen Karim.

Despite a short-lived return, the trucks are no more, but the brand hasn't exactly disappeared altogether. In August, the brand was relaunched again, marking its third revival, under new ownership by Les Ailes de la Mode. After facing delays, the Zellers location opened up in a former Hudson's Bay at Londonderry Mall in Edmonton in October.

Whether the brand's next chapter means a permanent return of its beloved diner food remains to be seen; however, one thing's for sure. We'll be dreaming of the day we can taste those gravy-soaked fries once again.