All I have to do is Dreamland Old-school Portage Avenue diner will deliver retro ’50s vibe By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Friday, Nov. 4, 2022

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/11/2022 (782 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We might be on the verge of 2023, but the ’50s are coming back to Winnipeg.

Peek through the windows of 2615 Portage Ave. and you’ll see red-and-white striped chairs stacked on black-and-white checkered floors. A bubble-gum pink piano stands near an ice cream counter. A neon sign announcing “Dreamland Diner” pops against a light blue wall.

“I’ve always, always, always wanted a diner,” said Ravi Ramberran, 39. “(A) ’50s classic diner — milkshakes and the ice cream and the hotdogs and the fries.”

He’s getting his wish.

Dreamland Diner is in need of staff and an outdoor sign. Otherwise, it’s almost ready for business.

“I was hoping to have a jukebox, but I can’t find the right one, the right look, for anything less than $10,000,” Ramberran said, walking through his new eatery Thursday.

He passes through the kitchen, with its soft-serve ice cream and drink machines. The place isn’t finished — there’s a large, custom-made Dreamland Diner toy plane sitting behind the service counter, waiting to be hung from the ceiling.

Ramberran drags a child-size “kids only” sign to a corner of the restaurant. It’s a future dance zone.

“We’re going to put a disco ball on the ceiling,” he said.

He’s been working on the roughly 1,600-square-foot building for months. Little Goat, a restaurant specializing in French food, used to occupy the space; it announced its closure in April, following two years of lockdowns and reopenings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was hoping to have a jukebox, but I can’t find the right one, the right look, for anything less than $10,000.”–Ravi Ramberran

Ramberran is already busy: he owns Four Crowns Restaurant and Bar on McPhillips Street and St. James Burger and Chip Co. off Ness Avenue.

He wasn’t hunting for a new venture, he said. Still, he reads real estate news and checks “for sale” signs. He’s wanted a diner like in Back to the Future since childhood.

“I’ve been looking for a location just like this for a long time,” Ramberran said. “When this came up, I was like, ‘Man, I can transform that place to be beautiful.’”

He bought the St. James haunt and “gutted it completely,” he said.

In came new equipment, flooring, lights. His phone became a reference guide with diner photos and renderings.

Ramberran ordered 60 seats from Accro Furniture, a Winnipeg-based manufacturer that sells retro items.

“I think it’s really important that when you’re opening a restaurant in the city, you’re selling more than food,” Ramberran said. “You’re selling atmosphere, you’re selling a good time.”

Hence the glowing “Dreams do come true” sign on geometric wallpaper — it’s for photos, to be shared, Ramberran said.

“I think part of the fun thing of this business is really not talking about the business,” he said, adding he hopes Dreamland Diner grows through word of mouth and people’s curiosity.

The food will be classic diner fare — hotdogs, fries, milkshakes and onion rings.

“The mission here is to keep the price really low, and we’ll make up the profits on the volume (of customers),” Ramberran said.

“I think with all the talk of recession coming and everything going up, people are looking for affordable options.”–Ravi Ramberran

To keep costs down, the eatery will operate on counter service rather than hiring waiters.

Ice cream prices will need to be competitive, given the proximity to Dairy Queen and Sargent Sundae, Ramberran noted.

He plans on selling “extravagant, fancy desserts that people want to take home.” Those might be on the pricier side, but they’ll also be big, Ramberran said.

“I think with all the talk of recession coming and everything going up, people are looking for affordable options,” he said. “They still want to get an evening out.”

He’ll keep his menu small — no burgers yet — while getting used to Dreamland Diner’s traffic flow, he said.

Jessie Wu hasn’t had a lunch spot to direct her clients to for half a year. She used to point people across Orient Massage Therapy’s shared parking lot to Little Goat.

“Customers ask me, ‘Where is (a) restaurant?’ I (will) say, ‘Go here,’” she said, looking in Dreamland Diner’s direction.

Paul Beaudet, co-owner of Westside Iron Training and Therapy, said you “can’t beat” diner food. He’s planning to walk over after a gym session and grab a meal.

“You want to support local, small business,” Beaudet noted.

Nostalgia draws people to old-school diners — it might be a reason the businesses do well, said Nicholas Evans, a University of Manitoba psychology professor who studies nostalgia.

“It would be interesting to see older generations go with their children or their grandchildren,” Evans said.

Younger family members may try to feel a sense of nostalgia to connect with their elders, who might be reminiscing in the diner environment, Evans said.

Others, like Ramberran, could experience historical nostalgia — yearning for part of the past without having lived in it, Evans said.

“I think a lot of that comes from watching TV shows and listening to music of that time,” he said, adding there hasn’t been much research on the subject.

Ramberran plans to open Dreamland Diner this winter, though there’s no set date. He expects the restaurant’s sign to arrive mid-November, and he said he’ll hire around 10 staff this month.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com