Ruth Wilensky, the matriarch of the iconic Montreal eatery Wilensky’s Light Lunch, has died at age 98.
According to the death announcement on the Paperman & Sons website, Wilensky passed away on Friday. A funeral service will be held on Sunday.
Along with her late husband Moe, Wilensky presided over the Mile-End restaurant for decades, until Moe's death in 1984. Founded in 1932, it became known for its Jewish-style “nosh:” pickles and karnatzel, along with chopped egg sandwiches, specialized hot dogs and the famous Wilensky Special – a salami and baloney sandwich, grilled to perfection.
That concoction gained the praise of famous chef Anthony Bourdain, who visited Wilensky’s for an episode of his show ‘Parts Unknown.’
Dustin Gilman, who blogs under the name Food Guy Montreal, said it was the restaurant's idiosyncracies that make it special.
"I, personally, love the rules. I think the rules are the best part about this restaurant, we don't have a lot of restaurants that have rules. Never cut in half, only one at a time, always comes with mustard, tips always go to charity. It's as classic as Montreal gets."
Montreal Gazette columnist Bill Brownstein, a regular at the restaurant, said the restaurant changed very little over the years.
"Even back then, it was as it is today, very gruff," he said. "No plates, no cutlery, you got served this fried salami and baloney on a bun with a dab of mustard. You got in, you got out, no pleasantries... and yet, it's functioned since 1932, which tells you something."
Wilensky's death comes just months after that of Hymie Sckolnick, founder of Beauty's, another iconic hotspot.
"These are legendary Montreal characters," said Brownstein. "It's part of the urban landscape of the city."
Another special element of Wilensky's charm: it was a family business in every sense of the word.
"The family-run business is definitely part of the appeal," said Gilman. "The fact that Moe and Ruth's kids are still running it is pretty amazing."
Brownstein noted that with its lack of pretension, Wilensky's became a Montreal institution, immortalized in the film 'The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz,' an adaptation of the novel by Mordecai Richler, another Montreal icon.
"It's just one of these legendary places," he said. "I think it took tourists to recognize its value and then, pretty much, it became popular again, it gained a renaissance. Ruth Wilensky was really the heart and spirit of the place."
While Ruth technically retired in 2012, she was still known to appear, including at the restaurant's 85th anniversary in 2017.
"She was very much a part of the Wilensky experience," said Brownstein. "She didn't care if you were there or not there. Come on in, they'll serve you and that lent to the charm in a weird way."
Wilensky is survived by her four children and their spouses and four grandchildren.
