Nearly seven decades after helping to launch the landmark business, Lena Boychuk still loves a good cup of coffee at Johnny’s.
Boychuk, who opened Johnny’s Confectionery with her late husband Johnny Boychuk in 1947, paid a return visit to the building last week.
“I’m really impressed,” said Lena, still sharp at 96, surveying the section of the building now known as Johnny’s Social Club. “I think it’s really great. It became something really nice.”
With bright eyes, white angelic hair and unwavering graciousness, Lena is easy to talk to as she sits on a swivel stool at one of the coffee bars left over from the building’s glory days as the gossip centre of Flin Flon.
Though she’s approaching the century mark, she has few problems summoning details around the early days of Johnny’s.
Born in 1918 in Sturgis, Saskatchewan, Lena wed Johnny, who hailed from Stenen, Saskatchewan, in 1944.
Lena had first come to Flin Flon because of a family connection, as her sister and brother-in-law lived here. She ended up working at the Flin Flon Dairy.
Not long after getting married, Lena and Johnny were ready to start their own business. A businessman friend suggested the then-sprawling subdivision of Birchview as the ideal location.
The Boychuks settled on a confectionery and had a carpenter by the name of Mr. Hoglander – Lena can’t recall his first name – erect the building along the busy artery of Green Street.
Johnny’s Confectionery opened its doors in 1947 with Lena managing the accounts, working in the kitchen and, perhaps most famously, serving coffee.
In time Johnny’s became a major community gathering place. Its three coffee bars were legendary, with regulars stopping by as much for a chat as for the caffeine jolt.
“We always had the same customers,” recalled Lena. “Every day they’d come and have coffee here for 10 cents a cup.”
Lena recalled how the store also enjoyed traffic from the long-demolished Birchview School across the street. Her husband loved seeing the children, even if it didn’t always seem that way.
“Johnny was always interested in hockey and in many things, so I think he was very good with the people and with the kids – he loved kids,” she said. “But he was a little gruff, you know. Everybody thought he was kind of a meanie.”
“He threw enough children out of this store,” interjected Janet Hebert, Lena and Johnny’s daughter, who accompanied her mother on the visit.
“Well if they didn’t behave themselves, yes, of course,” added Lena.
When Johnny’s first opened, the Boychuk family lived in the back of the store, a practice as common in those days as it was necessary for financial survival for upstart businesses.
Hebert recalled how significant of a responsibility the business was for the family.
“We never took a holiday as a family,” she said. “My mom and my brother and I [did], but my dad never joined us. Somebody was always at the store.”
The success of Johnny’s allowed Lena and Johnny to raise Janet and twin brother Jerry, who were adopted. Jerry tragically died of a heart attack in 2001, 15 years after Johnny passed away.
The Boychuks sold Johnny’s in 1972, retiring to Winnipeg and later Moose Jaw. The store changed hands a few more times before closing in 2007.
“That felt bad, really, that it wasn’t being supported anymore,” recalled Lena of her reaction to the closure.
In 2010, the Johnny’s legend was reborn when the building was purchased and underwent renovations.
In one section of the building went the NorVA Centre for artists; in another, a movie rental outlet (which would later be replaced by office space).
And in the other section, where those famous coffee bars still stood, went a convenience store and coffee shop. When that business folded, this section of the building became a co-operative venture known as Johnny’s Social Club.
Flin Flon and area residents still gather here for coffee. In the evening, don’t be surprised to find local musicians performing.
Lena, who now lives in Winnipeg, still returns to Flin Flon from time to time. Her latest trip was especially memorable.
“As soon as I saw the rocks, it just kind of made me feel like I was coming home,” she said with a smile.
