Here’s one of the hidden gems of the Toronto area; The Big M Drive In burger joint in Pickering. Established in 1965 by Ted Papatheodorou and Angelo Argiro, two local Toronto guys who used to fish in Frenchman’s Bay, who saw an opportunity to bring a big city drive-in burger joint to the area. More than half a century their families still run the place in the ‘original way‘ because if it’s old and NOT broken, nobody needs to fix it.
There’s a special appreciation for 50s and 60s style diners even today. Originals like Mel’s Drive-In and Bob’s Big Boy in California are well known, but there really aren’t many of these left in Toronto. What makes these places last? Gearheads.
Automobile enthusiasts are the lifeblood of late night diners. After a night of cruising, there’s nowhere better than Johnny’s on Victoria Park. But for those looking to chill-out rather than do a burn-out, The Big M is home.
If you stop by The Big M on a quiet night, talk to Tony; the proprietor and family to the original owners. The pictures of hot rod Mustangs that he displays to the right of the cash register shows that he’s a ‘pony car’ guy at heart. And his drive-in is a regular stop for car clubs in the area. Even though Tony has a customized Fox-body mustang at home, he even welcomes ‘bow tie’ guys from the ‘Corvettes of Durham’.
Why fraternize with the enemy? Because Tony is a car guy.
While we munched on some old-school jumbo onion rings, Tony told us that The Big M plays host to several car meets over the summer, Car guys and gals come from all over the GTA to hang out in the parking lot, show off their rides, and re-live the golden days of automobilia.
But if you park in those coveted spots under the sign, don’t expect to be able to get your car out until the show is over. The place gets so packed it spills into the parking lots of the gas station next door.
The original location for The Big M was right across the street, in the building currently occupied by the Chúuk Mexican Kitchen (also owned by the same family). It was a bigger spot with a wrap-around parking lot, and it’s easy to picture it filled with hot rods and street racers. Tony reminisced that when he was little, all the locals and east end Toronto troublemakers would come to sleepy Liverpool Rd in Pickering and drag race down to the lake. Then they’d stop at the drive-in to arrange the next race.
If you squint a little at the building, you can tell that it started off as a Kentucky Fried Chicken joint in the 60s, but Colonel Sanders is long gone. The Big M has been here for decades. And while public attitudes towards drag racing (plus speed enforcement cameras on Liverpool Rd.) have eliminated any illegal street racing from the area, car guys still come around to enjoy a glimpse of the good old days.
Looking forward to the next car show at The Big M!
Besides the fact that this was a very interesting story, I gleefully noted the word automobilia. New word but obvious meaning. Also, wrap-around parking lot. I’ve been visiting various parking lots in my mind today looking for one that would fit the description of wrap-around. I came up with this: https://www.tripadvisor.in/Restaurant_Review-g29950-d15134331-Reviews-Swensons_Drive_In-Avon_Ohio.html#/media/15134331/?albumid=101&type=0&category=101
But I don’t know if that link will work let alone if it was what you are describing. Nice blog that makes me think.
To make similar articles easier to find, http://www.demaras.com uses AUTOMOBILIA as the prefix in the title of any cool old places focused on the golden age of the automobile. Like these:
https://demaras.com/2024/01/27/automobilia-gas-station-in-1957-vs-2024/
https://demaras.com/2024/01/25/automobilia-cool-50s-gas-station-still-in-business/
Those old gas stations are super rare here in Toronto. But in the US there’s some amazingly preserved places like this one in Rancho Cucamonga. Visiting this place was the inspiration to find similar places locally.
https://demaras.com/2022/11/12/cucamonga/
Old diners and drive-ins are even better than gas stations though. That’s what was so cool about The Big M. But the original place across the street had a parking lot that encouraged people to congregate, just like that Swensons!
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BTW that place looks so cool. Not sure if it’s called Googie architecture, but it’s definitely mid-century atomic-age COOL! Slanted roof, clean lines, no ornamentation. If you ever visit that place with your family, please take pics and write a review for http://www.demaras.com !