For more than 70 years, a Toronto restaurant has been a go-to in the community, creating a backdrop for generations of diners to create lasting memories over a cheap and cheerful meal.
Ask anyone who grew up living in or frequenting Scarborough over the past seven decades, and there’s a better-than-good chance that they have at least one story that starts or ends at Ted’s Restaurant — also known as Amazing Ted’s Diner.
Founded in 1954 by — you guessed it — the titular Ted, the diner is about as old school as they come, with no social media or website to speak of, relying solely on customer loyalty and word-of-mouth to keep its seats full.
Suffice it to say, the current model — which, really, is the old model — is working.
The restaurant still pays homage to its roots, which began in 1954.
With the tagline “A great place to meet your friends,” proudly emblazoned across its sign and snaking along its front window, you’ll regularly find the place full, with patrons of all different ages and creeds peppered across the restaurant’s teal vinyl booths and laminate countertops.
Bacon is a specialty at Ted’s.
Ted’s isn’t exclusively a hot spot for locals, though, it’s also a go-to spot for filming and appears in a number of movies and TV shows, like Handmaid’s Tale, Lost Girl and Orphan Black, which has only further helped to cement its legacy as a Toronto landmark.
The original advertisement announcing Ted’s grand opening.
While the name has stuck around over the years, Ted, the restaurant’s founder only owned and operated the restaurant for about a third of its lifetime, before trading hands with another family who operated it for another 20 years, ultimately selling the business to the family of Randy Zhang, the current owner.
Randy Zhang of Amazing Ted’s Diner.
The story of Randy’s family coming to possess the beloved diner is, in his words, a “lucky” one.
Originally from Toronto, Randy’s family decided to move away from the city to try a slower pace of life when he was a kid, ultimately settling in Gananoque and operating a Chinese restaurant for four years, before realizing that the small town life might not be for them after all.
Ted’s still has that classic diner look and feel.
“We decided to move back to a bigger city area because it’s so quiet there,” Randy tells blogTO, “we had nothing to do.”
Upon returning to Toronto, Randy’s parents were reading the newspaper when they stumbled upon a listing in the newspaper offering Amazing Ted’s up for sale. Curious, they checked it out and were charmed by the old-school diner, and immediately took on the challenge.
They don’t make diners like this anymore.
The Zhang family had their work cut out for them when they took over the spot and its discerning regulars, Randy tells blogTO, learning the recipes from the previous owners before changing hands completely.
Mastering the classic American-style diner menu was a tall order for the Zhangs at first, says Randy.
“We took whatever they could teach us,” he says, “because we were new, we knew nothing about cooking Western food.”
That was 22 years ago, and in the time since, Randy’s parents have retired, leaving the day-to-day operations of the restaurant to he and his brother, who just recently celebrated the diner’s 70th year in business.
Photos and press coverage from over the years.
“We try to keep it as is,” Randy tells blogTO, even though they did renovate the restaurant about 15 years ago.
“It’s a warm memory for a lot of people,” he says, “I know there’s a lot of customers, from the kid, the grandkids, they all came here for years and years,” so maintaining the Ted’s that people know and love is of the utmost importance.
Warm memories are everywhere you look at Ted’s.
Over the past 22 years that Randy’s been involved with Ted’s, he tells blogTO that one of the most rewarding parts has been his regulars, and the opportunity to watch them and their families grow.
“Even though I’ve only had it for 22 years, I’ve already watched them grow from baby to teenager to adult,” he says.
Breakfast sausages are a popular item at Amazing Ted’s.
Despite the restaurant’s cult following, Randy acknowledges that Toronto — and the restaurant’s home in Scarborough, particularly — seem to be growing at an unprecedented rate, meaning that the future of the restaurant isn’t guaranteed.
The restaurant has now been in the Zhang family for 22 years.
“There’s a lot of customers who remind me how much they like the restaurant,” he tells blogTO. “They tell me ‘don’t close it down,’ and stuff like that, but the city has to grow, so I don’t know how long we will stay.”
For now, though, Randy assures that “business is good,” and the milestone of 70 years is a sure enough sign that Ted’s Restaurant might just have what it takes to be one of those spots that, against all odds, stands the test of time.
