NDG's beloved Oxford Café celebrates 80th birthday

Oxford Café, a restaurant in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood, marks a major milestone. They’re celebrating 80 years since the original restaurant opened. In true fashion, they’re hosting with a feast.

"We said we're going to do a cocktail party at night and we invited all our customers, all our friends to come," said Gity Pour.

Gity Pour and her husband Mohammad Salgooghian took over in 1997, when the restaurant was already known in the neighbourhood.

"I remember when we started, a lot of people on their lunch hours, construction people coming, plumbers, electricians, even some accountants came to have a lunch," said Pour.

They wanted to preserve its charm while adding their own spin to the menu.

"Mohammad is a chef and he was making everything here is homemade our pancake is homemade, our benedict sauce is homemade," Pour said.

And maybe it’s that personal touch that’s the secret crowd pleaser.

"They asked me what is the (pancake), recipe?$50,000 you can give me. I give you the recipe," she jokes.

One customer has her clear favourite, "Have you ever had their crepes? Let me tell you, they're the best," she told CTV News on her way into the restaurant.

And others say, "it’s the best eggs benedict I've ever had."

Their loyal patrons say while the food might be what draws people in, it’s the hospitality that makes them come back.

Peter Bowering has been a loyal customer for over two decades.

"This is the kind of place that makes NDG the way it is. You know, it's very familiar, comfortable. And, you know, everyone's very relaxed and it's just a great place to come," he said.

Marthe Lacasse, says Gity and Mohammad have become good friends, "anybody that comes, has to have breakfast here at Oxford Cafe. It's an institution, but it's an institution deeply, deeply burned in our hearts."

It’s become more than just a business.

"We are like your family If they need something, if they wanted something, we help them," Pour explains.