A taste for nostalgia: Canadians demand return of Zellers restaurant

With Zellers poised for a comeback this year, shoppers are ready for the return of the days when the lowest price was the law. But amazing discounts aside, many hope that the return could also mean one more thing: the reopening of the beloved restaurant.

Initially launched as The Skillet, the name was later changed to Zellers Family Restaurant until the department store eventually closed nationwide in 2013 after fierce competition from Walmart.

It seems that Canadians are super nostalgic for the restaurant’s diner-style menu, which included soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, pies, milkshakes, and, of course, the Golden French Fries (with gravy, obvs).

The Zellers Family Restaurant menu (Wild_windy/Reddit)

A release shared last year announced that along with the debut of a new e-commerce website, Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) will expand the discount retailer’s brick-and-mortar presence within Hudson’s Bay department stores, the company.

There’s no opening date yet but that hasn’t stopped people from getting excited, with many taking to Instagram and Twitter to ask if the company will be bringing back its restaurant.

Others were much more specific, listing items they’d order from the menu.

The company hasn’t confirmed anything yet but its vague responses are giving us hope.

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In response to a comment on Instagram, the company stated, “Breakfast is our favourite meal of the day too! About the restaurant coming back… guess you’ll have to wait and see!”

With files from Nikitha Martins