Saying goodbye to Corey’s Restaurant
Family owned eatery closing after 35 years
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Tillsonburg’s Gus and George Papadakos, a father-son team at Corey’s Restaurant for decades, announced last week the restaurant had been sold and was closing.
Response from the community was overwhelmingly positive saying ‘goodbye and thank you for the memories.’
“It’s been amazing,” said George. “I think a lot of people feel it was COVID-driven. Obviously that’s why we’ve been closed – because of COVID – but not why we sold. We were already in the process of selling.
“They already knew a year ago I was trying to retire,” said Gus, who started working at Corey’s in 1983 and within two years was asked if he wanted to buy it.
“I said sure, then went from there. Thirty-seven years later, I’m 68, I’m still here. And now it’s done. Corey’s was definitely a part of my life.
“The only thing I regret right now… is because of the COVID virus, you couldn’t say a proper goodbye to your customers. You want to shake their hands, give them a hug. We were really thankful to the people of Tillsonburg, people who supported us all those years. What can I say, it’s overwhelming.”
George, now 46, started working full-time at Corey’s in 2000.
“It would have been 20 years this fall. Twenty great years. There’s always ups and downs, but at the same time, 20 years flew by.”
“A lot of memories in this place,” Gus nodded.
Both cited support from a strong customer base over the years.
“We always had a lot of great customers,” said George. “We had a good clientele base and good friends that supported us over the years.”
“You knew everybody by their name,” said Gus.
“It will be remembered for what it was – a good family restaurant in town,” said George.
The new owners have not been announced yet.
“They didn’t really divulge and they don’t want to say,” said George. “And we’re honouring their clauses.”
While Gus is retiring, George will be going in a new direction.
“I’m not in limbo,” said George. “We’ve made sound investments over the years, so in terms of getting into the ‘9-to-5 job,’ it’s not something I need to do. I am a triathlon and run coach and I’m a Beachbody coach. That’s something my wife and I have been doing during COVID and it’s been rather successful.
“Will I look for something else? Who knows? I’m looking forward to the next chapter and doing what I have a passion for as well.”
Gus has travel plans in his future.
“By next summer, I will probably be spending 4-5 months in Greece,” said Gus. “I’ve got a few things to do up there – I will keep myself busy.”
The long-time family business also gave back to the community over the years.
“I’ve been truly blessed to be in this restaurant business,” George summed up. “It was successful, I got to work with my parents and my brother, and you know what they say, if you can work with your parents you can work with anybody.
“We loved supporting our community. I don’t think there was ever a time when we didn’t sponsor a team, or if somebody came in for a buck and doe, we’d always give something. We always loved rallying around our community because our community was so amazing supporting us.”
cabbott@postmedia.com
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