Part diner, part museum: North Vancouver's Tomahawk Restaurant turns 100
Few restaurants survive long enough to serve three generations of the same family. But that’s become commonplace at North Vancouver’s Tomahawk Restaurant, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
“Our oldest female customer is 94,” owner/operator Chuck Chamberlain said. “Our oldest male customer is 98. They brought their children, then their grandchildren, and now their great-grandchildren. It’s amazing to see.”
The Tomahawk began with a coffee shop opened by Chuck’s father, Charles “Chick” Chamberlain, in what is now Heywood Park in the early 1920s. In 1926, he opened the Tomahawk Barbecue on Marine Drive. It was the city’s first drive-in restaurant. In 1960, he relocated the Tomahawk to its current location on Phillip Avenue.
Neither Chick nor his wife had any restaurant experience.
“There were only three items on the menu: chicken sandwiches, beef sandwiches and pork sandwiches,” Chamberlain said.
The menu grew organically, catering to what the customers wanted.
“The customers built the restaurant, and the restaurant built the customers. It goes hand in hand.”
The menu remains resolutely diner-style, with hearty breakfasts, burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches and roast beef dinners. Several items are named after Indigenous leaders, including Joe Capilano, Simon Baker, and August Jack.
Chamberlain took over the restaurant in the ’70s. He’s as hands-on now as ever, coming in every day, seven days a week. But of the Chamberlains, he’s the last of the dynasty to stay on.
“My brothers and sisters used to work there years ago. They moved on and I stayed, and here we are.”
His son is a pilot for Air Canada and his daughter is a manager at Harrods in London. They put in their time, though. “From infancy on,” he says.
Families comprise a large part of the Tomahawk’s business. If out-of-towners come in, they’re usually brought in by regulars, he says.
Among the restaurant’s devotees is North Vancouver native son Nardwuar the Human Serviette. The gonzo journalist-DJ-musician once described the Tomahawk’s legendary Skookum Chief Burger as “three meals in one.”
“A lot of people remark about Nardwuar,” Chamberlain said. “They don’t come in looking for him, though.”
Other famous names associated with the institution are Bryan Adams, who washed dishes there in the ’70s, and Guy Fieri. In 2011, Food Network aired a segment on the restaurant as part of the American celebrity chef’s series Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
Besides its food and landmark status, Tomahawk is also known for its collection of wood carvings, masks, large and small totem poles, woven cedar baskets, and other Indigenous art and artifacts.
“When my dad moved here from England as a young lad, he fell in love with the artwork and the culture,” Chamberlain said. “During the Depression everybody helped one another. They would give him carvings; he’d give them food. He developed a strong bond with the Indigenous community. He even received a traditional Indigenous name. None of the pieces were bought with the intention of selling them. That’s how we ended up with the collection.”
The restaurant, which seats 64 comfortably and more during patio season, has seen its share of ups and downs. It’s survived the Depression, two world wars and COVID.
“It all depends on trends. But we do have third-generation customers now, so we’ve got a very solid customer base. If it wasn’t for our long-term customers, I don’t know where we’d be today.”
One of the biggest changes he’s seen in the industry is the emergence of social media. “We get a lot of new customers because social media tells them to. Then they come here, fall in love with the place and become regular customers.”
For the official anniversary on June 26, Chamberlain was planning to charge only $10 for five of the menu items.
“I don’t really know what else to do. It’s just a small restaurant that survived 100 years, which is pretty well impossible in this business with the same family ownership.
“It’s just another day, if you will — but a good day.”
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Source: vancouversun.com