The first restaurant in Winnipeg to have an electric fridge 're-opens'

A total of 36 order tickets dating back to the mid-1920s were found, reading “Modern Electric Lunch’ in all caps along the top and detailing various lunch and coffee orders. (Source: Kiandra Jeffrey)

Renovations at a downtown Winnipeg lunch spot uncovered the early history of food preservation and cooking in the building

Modern Electric Lunch – located in the Fortune Block at 232 Main St. – got its name after the building’s owners made a unique discovery in its walls

“When the owners originally bought the building and they were restoring it, they found a bunch of old order tickets from the original restaurant,” said Madeleine Olvera the restaurant's general manager.

Olvera said 36 order tickets were found in the wall, all bearing the name “Modern Electric Lunch” on the top. The order tickets included various orders of coffee and meals.

The original restaurant was nicknamed “Electric Lunch No. 2,” as it was part of a pair of locally-owned restaurants. Olvera said the restaurant was the first in Winnipeg to use an electric refrigerator to preserve food.

“The owner told me once that back in that day all of the ice box guys – whoever drove around delivering ice – they would pop in the restaurant to have a peek at the electric refrigerator that they didn’t have to drop ice for,” she said.

The original restaurant was a popular spot for the rail workers at the VIA Rail space across the street, along with business people travelling by train.

The current restaurant opened up in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, right before restaurants closed to in-person dining due to public health orders.

Since the orders were lifted, Olvera says business has picked up significantly as more people return to work at downtown offices

“As soon as we could open, everyone was excited to sit down, we were excited to serve meals on plates and lattes in mugs instead of paper cups,” said Olvera.

The menu features a mix of regular and vegan options, but Olvera said they are becoming known for the classics.

“We just featured tourtière on the menu, we love to do shepherd’s pie or something like that,” she said