I had lunch at the Tomahawk Restaurant with my friend Bill Allman last week. A North Van resident, Bill first came here with his grandmother in 1969 when he was just a wee little lad, and he still drops by at least once, sometimes twice a week.
Chuck Chamberlain, the second-generation owner—his dad Chick founded the Tomahawk in the 1920s—drops by our table to say hello. I start with the elephant in the room. Is the Tomahawk for sale?
Uncertain Future?
Well it is and it’s not. And Chuck is clearly tired of people asking. He says he has no plans to shutter his restaurant which turns one hundred next year – and he will be around to celebrate that. He’s less clear about his plans to sell his property, which North Shore News reporter Nick Laba noted earlier this month is being advertised as an “ideally situated redevelopment site currently operating as a restaurant.” It has a $6.5 million price tag.
Chuck took over the business from his father in the 1970s but says his kids won’t be doing the same—his son is a pilot with Air Canada and his daughter is a manager with Harrods of London.
Part restaurant and part museum and art gallery, the building is filled with wood carvings, masks, large and small totem poles, woven cedar baskets, hatchets, pots and drums. Some of the items date back to the Depression, when Chick traded food for handicrafts or just sold food to struggling families priced to cover his costs.
Tomahawk and First Nations:
That close relationship with the First Nations people continues. Bill says the restaurant is often up to two-thirds full of people mostly from Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, the nearby Squamish Nation. “It’s their community restaurant. It’s also our community restaurant,” he says. “This is such a perfect example of a bridge between the founding culture and the developing culture. To ignore its heritage value because you’re simply too unskilled to see that bridge, that’s a real shame because that’s how you build a community.”
I ask Chuck which piece of art or artifact is his favourite, and he says he can’t choose, he loves them all. Most date back to when his dad Chick owned the restaurant, and he’s added to the collection over the years.
There is a large and beautiful Thunderbird wood carving that sits in the centre of the restaurant. Chuck tells me that it was given to his father at the second Tomahawk location—the one which sat right across the road in what’s now the Norgate Shopping Centre strip mall on Marine Drive. That restaurant had Vancouver’s first drive-in, and the Thunderbird replaced a tomahawk that hung on the outside of the restaurant and served as a street number, in the days before there was a need for one.
The 14 stools that line the counter are also from the restaurant’s second location. The first was a small coffee shop operation started up by Chick and his brother in the early 1920s in what’s now Heywood Park.
Totem Poles:
The two totem poles out front that tower over the restaurant were carved by Chief Mathias Joe for the official opening of the Lions Gate Bridge in May 1939. They originally stood at each side of Capilano Road connected by an arch with a double-headed serpent. King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth drove under the arch after the official opening of the bridge.
After the ceremony, Marie Capilano, wife of Chief Mathias Joe, insisted that the totems should go to Chick for his restaurant. They were restored a few years ago by the Chief’s grandson, says Chuck.
Our lunch arrives. I ordered the grilled cheese and fries, while Bill is having the Sunrise Special Breakfast with Yukon style bacon. Two eggs over easy, hash browns, and toast with jam. The Tomahawk also celebrates its Indigenous connections with burgers named after Chiefs Joe Capilano, Simon Baker, August Jack, and others. Then there’s the Thunderbird, the Potlatch and the Pow Wow burgers.
And Chuck confirms the local lore. Yes, rock star and former North Van high school student Bryan Adams washed dishes here in the ‘70s.
For more stories like this one see Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History
© All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all blog content copyright Eve Lazarus.
Thank you for thus interesting history of the Tomahawk! I hope the restaurant can be saved if property sold. So much history and culture that needs to be conserved and shared. Never mind the awesome restaurant food!
Excellent restaurant especially for breakfast. Be prepared to wait in a line! Generous food portions and warm atmosphere. I like to go there to fuel up before doing the Grouse Grind trail!
Oh Eve
This is truly a hidden gem. I’ve lived here all my life & never knew of the history or the resturant before now. I’m going to have to visit it myself.
Thanks Eve I so enjoy your stories.
It’s definitely worth the trip Elaine – enjoy!
We use to go the the Tomahawk when I was around five. It became a regular location with my sister and parents. I loved this location. I am seventy four and have taken our adult children. I’m trying to remember the hamburger I then and now. It had an egg paddy lettuce tomatoes wieners and their sauce. The breakfast are fantastic as well. The artifacts tell the story of the Squamish people. Chief Dan George was well known. You might remember little big man ? Dustin Hoffman was also in the movie. Great memory from the seventies. I always try to speak with Chuck whenever I’m in the restaurant. If I had the money I would buy the Tomahawk and have Chuck be our mentor. Pleasant memories from the pasr
It’s a staple in North Vancouver!! Great piece on the restaurant. I hope that it stays put. Very interesting read thanks for the history.
Glad you enjoyed it!
During the early 1950s, our Mom was ill and Dad was away on business, so Mom sent her three kids (3, 7 and 10 years old) to the Tomahawk along with an envelope of cash and change, accompanied by a note asking the folks at the restaurant to feed the kids. I don’t know if there was enough money or not, but I do know we all had a good meal. Somehow an advance discussion via phone wasn’t available or Mom wasn’t up to it, but I’ve always been grateful to the Tomahawk for taking care of us with no fuss!
Great memory for sure Judith. I have many memories of the Tomahawk, having worked there for Chuck, met and married my wife who also worked there.
In the 80’s, my parents bought the house on Phillip directly opposite The Tomahawk and when they moved into an apartment in Vancouver, I bought the house from them and lived there until 1997. But – we had been going there for SPECIAL breakfasts and burgers since the late 60’s.
It wasn’t just the great food – it was the welcome feeling we got the minute we walked through the doors. My children were encouraged to look at all the artifacts and ask questions – which they did – thoroughly! But the staff was patient and kind to them and to this day, they remember their ‘favourite’ carving or picture.
Keeping this treasure is so important not only for the memories but for the younger generation to experience. Thank you for the history, Eve.
This has reminded me of the First Nations art that adorned the restaurant area of the BC Tel / Telus (Boot) building at 3777 Kingsway in Burnaby. It was painted on cedar planks all down one side. I don’t know if it was done by a First Nations person but it was there from 1982 when I started with the company until 2007 when I retired. As the building was opened in 1976 I imagine it was there from the start. However, it was covered up by modern metal panels around the time that Telus and BC Tel merged and I assume it is still there underneath. I do not know who owns the building now and I believe it is partly empty. The “mini boot” is being taken down but I understand that the iconic “Boot” (where’s a heritage designation when you need one?) will remain while redevelopment of the site takes place. Might be worth checking out with the current owners/management.
The Tomahawk has been a family favorite. My grandfather and father were “waterfront people”. They loved the gracious treatment from Chick. as far back as the 1930’s. My father continued on through to the mid 50’s, taking Mom there on dates. When I was a kid in the 60’s, we went there for a big treat. We loved the cardboard dye cut Tamahawk “hats”, and I vaguely recall special chocolate bars with Tomahawk Artwork on the wrapper. As an adult, living in Vancouver, then Surrey, I have continued to go there (not on Mondays b/c they are closed) any time I’m on the North Shore or even passing through. I hope they never tear it down. They will face a huge public outcry if they do. The Tomahawk is an important cultural experience for many. I’m 69, and have been going there all my life.
Don’t remember how we found out about the Tomahawk, but always loved the breakfasts. Took visiting friends to Emily the food, decor & history of the Tomahawk! Loved going, along with MANY others, going to celebrate New Year’s Day!
That’s …to ENJOY, not Emily,….darn spell check
Because Emily makes so much more sense in that sentence ….