A Toronto dining institution, Penrose Fish and Chips on Mount Pleasant Rd., will come to an end in October after nearly 65 years. For Dave and Rosemary Johnston (right) the second generation to operate the much-loved fish and chips emporium, it is a sad farewell but one that seems appropriate. “I will miss the excitement and the people, the staff and customers,” Dave said wistfully as he spoke about his family’s lifetime of commitment to the business. And there is no doubt that Toronto will miss Penrose Fish and Chips. The thriving business has been built on hard work and love, with the added bonus of good fortune that comes from a place where people find their passion in their work. “It was something that just happened,” Johnston said of the long lineups of observant (and not-so-observant) fish eaters on Good Friday eve. And yet every day seemed the right day for fish and chips when it came from Penrose. That feeling was embellished by the endorsements of show personalities like Barbra Streisand. She enjoyed the food so much she announced two nights running from the stage at the Air Canada Centre everyone should go and try it. Penrose Fish and Chips is named after that tiny street in the Glebe known as Penrose Road. It sits a dozen doors to the south of the Johnston’s Mount Pleasant address. It might have been a Toronto Penny Lane.
The little shop at 600 Mount Pleasant Rd. has carried the name Penrose even before Dave Johnston’s mom and dad, Roland (Roly) and Marion, made their way from New Brunswick looking to find a living in the big city of Toronto in 1950. “It was actually called Penrose Sea Grill as early as 1938,” Dave recalled. And it was here that Roly and Marion set up their family business. Dave Johnston says his father was proud of the business and made him proud too. There was lots of work and training for Dave as a boy. His mom, Marion, “absolutely loved” working in the shop, the 60 hours a week and all. It was truly her life and she was active nearly until she passed away in 2012 at the age of 91. Roly died in 1994. Part of the appeal and mystique of Penrose Fish and Chips was the variety of house specials including the dishes cooked personally by Rosemary.Johnston, a certified pastry chef. Her Halibut Chowder is famous. And there were few leftovers from her homemade lemon meringue and pumpkin pies. Even as Penrose Fish and Chips closes and the family retires the name, cooking lives on in the Johnston family. Daughter Katie is a chef and graduate of the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont. Stacey, 23, is the Guest Services Manager at St. Louis Chicken and Ribs on Yonge St. What next for Dave and Rosemary? They will fully embrace their second passion of sailing. They are long-time members of the Toronto Hydroplane and Sailing Club at Ashbridge’s Bay. Is this retirement? Wisely, the Johnstons are leaving their options open. “If something comes along, we’ll have to see,” says Dave. Photos top from left: Roly and Marion Johnstone at Penrose Fish and Chips. Rosemary and Dave Johnston will retire the Penrose name. Centre: The Penrose neon sign, Dave Johnston as a teen working at the shop, Dave with his mom and dad.
Wish I could fly home and visit the neighbourhood I grew up in, and have great fish ‘n chips, one more time before they close!