REGINA, Sask. — Since he was 8 years old, Tino Makris has been an integral part of Nicky’s Cafe & Catering in business, as well as in familial senses. Tino’s father, Nick, founded the cafe 40 years ago and now co-owns the restaurant with his son.
Tino recognizes that since the restaurant opened, people’s preferences have changed, and part of growing a successful business, especially in the restaurant industry, is catering to that.
“People’s tastes change. You’ve got to adjust to that,” says Makris.
Over the past 40 years, Nicky's Cafe has faced the same financial challenges as other restaurants in Regina like recessions and other tough times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many other businesses, Nicky’s Cafe had to be innovative in order to stay in business through the pandemic.
“That’s when we kind of started our frozen side of our business to try and kind of make ends meet as much as we can. And that’s turned out to be a whole other new business for us. So in a sense, while COVID was horrible, in a sense, it was kind of for us a bit of a blessing in disguise because we kind of got new ideas and gave us more focus on what to do with the business moving forward,” says Makris.
Since the pandemic, Makris and his loyal customers have maintained a positive attitude about the future of the restaurant.
Danielle Staples, a patron of Nicky’s Cafe, says that “it’s a good location” and that “it’s always nice to support something that’s from Regina, for Regina people.”
While the cafe regularly receives positive feedback from customers, it’s not without its challenges.
“It’s lots of ups and downs, mostly ups, but a lot of downs, too, that make you wonder sometimes, are we in the right business sometimes? But that’s the restaurant business,” says Makris.
While profitability is essential to success for Nicky’s Cafe, it’s far from the only priority in the eyes of the business. The restaurant is committed to partnerships with local farmers to get products such as lentils and potatoes.
“Farmers are … one of the backbones of our business,” says Makris.
For Makris, that commitment to supporting local producers and serving the Regina community remains at the heart of Nicky’s Cafe as the business looks forward to the next 40 years.
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