Where old meets new, an overhaul of renovations, a relatively new owner, a longtime building owner but the same iconic Town & Country restaurant is set to reopen on Tuesday after a fire greatly damaged the beloved spot in 2023.
Tom Kostas opened Town & Country at 683 Eramosa Rd. in 1973 and expanded the restaurant with an addition in 1976. He’s owned the building all this time and lives at the property.
The reason behind the name Town & Country is that back in the early '70s Guelph wasn’t as developed as it is now. There weren’t many houses in the area so it was a “... little bit town, little bit country,” said Kostas.
In April 2023, a fire damaged the building and it closed, leaving regular customers without the iconic restaurant they frequented for breakfast staples and family dinners.
Kostas came to Canada in 1964 and lived in places like London and Hamilton before calling Guelph home. Patras, Greece is where he lived prior and worked as policeman. He built a life here and had three daughters and now has five grandchildren.
Kostas worked at the University of Guelph in housekeeping and when his younger brother came from Greece in 1967 he was able to get him a job alongside him. Kostas’ boss told him if his brother were anything like him, he’s hired.
Later on Kostas and his brother opened a restaurant together on York Road called Top Spot. Kostas branched out to open his own restaurant. He sold the restaurant in 2003 but still owned the building. In 2005, he sold the restaurant again so there have been a variety of owners throughout the years.
Jeyakopalan Nagalingam was three months into owning and running the restaurant when the fire happened.
Kostas was at the restaurant during lunch when the fire started and heard a staff member in the kitchen yell “fire!” He thought about his life and how hard he worked to build the place. “I don’t want to see it go down,” said Kostas. He’s happy the restaurant is reopening.
When the fire happened someone said losing the restaurant was like losing a family member, recalled Nagalingam.
He decided to open up a Town & Country restaurant in London, which he eventually sold. Nagalingam made his way back to Guelph’s Town & Country and now Kostas is going to help him run it.
Nagalingam has worked in the restaurant industry for 30 years. He lived in Mississauga and now Cambridge, after coming from Jaffna, Sri Lanka in 1992. He met his wife in Canada and has three children, two of them are twins.
What brought Nagalingam back on board at Town & Country is he wanted to work at the same place he once did.
On social media, people have been asking since it closed, when the restaurant was going to open again.
Staff has been training so the cars in front of the restaurant gave the impression it was open. Customers have been trying to come in to eat. Many know Kostas and some also recognize Nagalingam.
Some customers have been coming here for 35 to 40 years, said Kostas. Today someone who had been coming for 15 years dropped by wanting the menu as soon as he could get it.
Generations of families come here, said Nagalingam.
It took about a year and a half of renovations with a new kitchen, a new bar layout, new floors, walls, tables, chairs and decor. The menu is the same as it used to be with breakfast fare, chicken parmesan, rice pudding, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Nagalingam is the chef at the restaurant and breakfast is his favourite to make.
Town & Country will be open everyday other than Monday starting at 8 a.m. for breakfast and continues for lunch and dinner.
