Hyman (Hymie) Sckolnick was the founder of Montreal culinary institution, Beauty’s Luncheonette, on the Plateau Mont-Royal.
Sckolnick and his new bride, Freda, bought the Bancroft Stationary Store Snack Bar at the corner of St-Urbain and Mount-Royal in 1942. Freda began by making sandwiches for the workers in the nearby Jewish garment factories. With increasing demand for her delicious lunches, the Sckolnicks began to serve more and more lunches on weekends. The factory workers would bring their families to eat there, too, which instituted Sunday brunch at the restaurant. Although it was formally known as the Bancroft Snack Bar, it has always been colloquially called Beauty’s, after Hymie’s bowling nickname.
Freda’s signature creations are the Beauty’s Special (cream cheese, lox, onion and tomato on bagel) and the Mish Mash (a hot dog, salami, green pepper and fried onion omelette). The ubiquitous half hour lineups are a testament to the quality of the food. The interior, which has the ambience of a retro 1940s diner, is decorated with letters, write-ups and photos of local and international stars who visited, ate and schmoozed there. The executive producer of the (at the time) Late Show with David Letterman even wrote, “You’re the only reason to come to Canada!”
An intergenerational family business, Hymie’s children and grandchildren helped him run the restaurant, and Hymie himself has greeted and seated customers there every day since 1942.
