The Surf Restaurant of Balm Beach has become just as much a family staple for local beach-goers as the succulent Sunday night prime rib and Yorkshire pudding it serves.
The current slogan states it’s “the place where surf, sunset and good friends meet,” but the descriptor is more than a marketing motto. It’s also a nod to the history of an establishment that has served as eatery, post office, community centre and entertainment hub during its 63-year evolution.
Balm Beach was already a popular pre-Second World War destination for families seeking Georgian Bay’s sandy shores, and its popularity grew in subsequent years as daytrippers mingled with cottagers and campers.
Ted Jackson ran a daily bus throughout the summer season bringing sun seekers to and from Midland, while Jerry LeBlance’s taxi would pile luggage on the roof racks and weekenders in the sedan seats in regular round trips to Toronto.
LeBlance’s wife, Doreen, ran the beauty salon.
Often, men would make the weekly commute to work while their families spent July and August on the eastern beaches of Nottawasaga Bay, which extended in both directions for miles.
Built by the enterprising Wyevale family that also ran the Shady Nook Court cabins (later to be converted to a motel), the post office and a local construction company providing topsoil and bulldozing service, The Surf was the first restaurant on the beach to serve full sit-down meals.
Brenda Spring, a regular summer resident as a youngster when her last name was still Moreshide, recalls waiting tables in the restaurant built by her future father-in-law, Homer Spring.
“There was a cabin out back where the staff of 17 lived in the summer,” she said. “There were bunk beds stacked up, with the girls staying on one side of the partition and the cooks on the other.”
Waitresses wore white shoes with uniforms and aprons to match, with Homer’s wife, Meryle, doing all the washing, pressing and starching.
“It was a going concern,” said Spring, who describes an ice cream window with a regular lineup 20 to 30 people deep. “The only other place to get it was the arcade, and that was more for teenagers.”
She recalls dancing to the tunes of the arcade’s jukebox as a 14-year-old on the small dance floor, tucked behind the pinball machines and the Georgian Grill snack bar.
She later learned how to make ice cream drinks in the soda fountain that opened nearby.
In the heat of the summer, the popular frozen dessert was kept cold by ice delivered in 25- and 50-pound blocks from the local families who harvested it the winter before.
At the time, The Surf also boasted a bakery window where pies and other delicacies could be purchased for home use. It would cost a quarter to sit inside to eat a slice of pie and drink a cup of coffee. A scoop of ice cream was a nickel more.
Pictures of early-model Fords and Chevys sharing the roadway with horses now adorn the walls of The Surf, harkening back to those early days, but much has stayed the same. Although a full dinner may have cost only $1.75 in the late ’40s, the menu was remarkably similar to today’s offerings.
Chicken dinners and fresh local pickerel continue to be favourites.
In 1959, Homer and Meryle sold the restaurant to Frank Kirk because their other ventures kept them too busy. In those days, Homer had the only phone on the beach and was kept hopping. They relocated to the beach full time in the early 1960s and a year-round community began to form.
As the restaurant started to change hands during the late 1960s and fall into disrepair, “(Homer) was very upset,” she said. “Something you work for all your life is turning into a dump – it just breaks your heart.”
So she and her husband, Barry, brought it back into the family in 1972, and his parents, who had sold the motel by that point, ran it for several years.
Its format, however, had altered somewhat. The restaurant had been downsized to a snack bar in the front. The seasonal post office, which had originally been on the beach, now had its own part of the former sit-down eatery. The entire front section of the room, which once had booths lining the walls, had been converted to a meeting place for seniors, scouts and guides, and area ball teams.
“We had dances, and bingo every Friday night,” said Spring. “That’s when people were moving here and staying here, and there was a lot going on.”
On Feb. 14, 1984, the same day as Homer’s funeral, the restaurant changed hands again. New owners Lulu and Vaughn Christianson lived onsite with their girls.
His piano playing was a hit for locals and visitors alike, said Spring, who remembers his rendition of “Danny Boy” with affection.
The new owners built a side deck out of the wind, and eventually saw their daughters Crystal and Janet married onsite – one inside The Surf and one on the adjacent lawn.
After Vaughn died, Lulu continued to run things for a couple of years before deciding it was someone else’s turn.
The restaurant’s current nautical theme came courtesy of the next owners. A few years after buying the business in 2000, Dora Basandowski did away with the post office altogether. She banished it to Perkinsfield, where it remains today.
With the help of husband Mario, she restored the premises to its former glory as a restaurant where families could sit down to home-cooked meals in comfort.
Mario, a sailor, re-did the entire décor – inside and out. He built the wooden tables with nautical details, added faux-log window frames and ceiling beams, built the bar and added a deck in the shape of a boat’s prow to overlook the beach and water beyond. New patio doors provided access to the new space.
In 2007, current owner Judy Ryan took over, and she continues to serve up a diverse, but homey, menu of comfort foods with help of chef Bill Moore. She continues to grow her appeal to cottagers and sunbathers, as evidenced by the recently opened beachside snack bar.
The beach resident also participated in Summerama, a one-day successful festival that was re-introduced to the community this year after a decade-and-a-half hiatus.
However, Ryan’s also an integral part of the local business community that continues to evolve as it meets the needs of its year-round clientele.
“The Business Association of Balm Beach is starting up to bring the ‘unity back to the community,’” said Spring, who coined the phrase. “This is a great place to live.”
And at its centre is the restaurant, which continues to be an area meeting place with live music on Tuesday evenings throughout the summer, and Saturday evening entertainment in the off-season.
Whether Balm Beach is a day-tripping destination or an everyday home, The Surf continues to nourish neighbours and new friends alike with sun, sand and superior family fare.
For more information, follow Balm Beach Road west to the sparkling end of the road, or call 361-1612 to check ahead for seasonal hours.
Surf’s up in Balm Beach
Date: Nov 26, 2009
Sunday night prime rib and Yorkshire pudding is a traditional weekly favourite at The Surf, which offers casual fine dining for families year round. Here, chef Bill Moore and owner Judy Ryan, centre, offer up the meal with former owner and area historian Brenda Spring.
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