B16 Terrace Review — Wednesday, November 21, 1990 _Who are... Gus and Heli Gerdei? by Betty Barton Last Monday night, the Bavarian Inn was extensively damaged by fire. Terrace and Thorhill fire departments fought the blaze for over four hours, but the roof destroyed and the interior of the building extensively water da- maged. Most of the stuffed animals in the Hunter’s Den were saved by the quick work of the firemen at the scene. The following interview was done with owners Gus and Heli Gerdei long before the fire, with the sole purpose of using it for the Terrace Review's weekly "Who is...” column. Instead, this serves as a tribute to the Gurdeis at a time when they need to know that Terrace is behind them. The Bavarian Inn was originally built in the spring of 1974 for Andy Heuschling, by H & H Builders. Heuschling, a chef by trade, had great plans for the res- taurant, but was unable to imple- ment them successfully, After only three months in operation, in Sep- tember 1974 the Bavarian Inn -Closed its doors. Fortuitously, that fall, Fritz Wober came to Terrace from Vancouver to visit a friend. He and Gus Gerdei were both chefs in Vancouver’s Hy’s Prime Rib. Fritz was head chef; Gus was sous-chef. Both were new immigrants and wanted to open their own res- taurant. Gus himself started in the food industry at the age of fourteen. He spent half a year as a butcher’s apprentice and three years in hotel training, specializing in French and regional (Austrian) cooking. In 1970, Gus travelled from his homeland of Austria to Kitchener, Ontario for his brother’s wedding. He applied in Canada for visitor Status to stay one year. After realizing the opportunities in this beautiful country, he decided to Stay and became a naturalized Canadian in 1975. Gus worked as a cook at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and learned | English as he went along. He became a chef saucier at the Sky- line Hotel in Toronto. He and a friend then travelled by car to Vancouver, and at age 22 he became head chef at the Palisades Hotel on Robson Street. When Fritz returned from Ter- race with the proposal to enter into partnership in a restaurant there and make it the best restaurant in the Northwest, Gus had never even heard of Terrace. Gus had just returned from travels through South and Central America and was keen on the idea of a new project. They started negotiations with H & H Builders for a lease-to-buy agreement. By May of 1975, everything was set up and the Bavrian Inn re-opened July 21, 1975, Both Gus and Fritz were used to cooking for a Vancouver popula- tion. For the first few weeks in Terrace, they cooked large quan- lities of goulashes and sauerkraut in vats and couldn’t figure out why they always had leftovers, They quickly adapted to Tertace, its size, and the wants and needs of their customers. ne Gus and Fritz continued to do all the cooking, Ordering, menu planning and managing both’ the: - restaurant and the cabaret. After renting for two years, they bought the restaurant in October 1977. Gus’ wife Heli does all the book work. Until the fire, she was head Northwest travelogue Heli and Gus Gerdei, in a photograph taken shortly after the veranda of the Bavarian Inn had been glassed in to become the “solarium’*. bartender, hostess and "represented me out front” adds Gus. Gus and Heli met in 1973 in Vancouver, where she was in transit from her native Australia, She had been thinking about returning to Europe, when Gus encouraged her to join him in Terrace in June 1975, "to assist me in my edicts", he says. Heli and Gus were married in the Bavarian Inn cabaret in April 1976. Hyder, that lively little ghost town by Betty Barton Have you ever been to Hyder, Alaska, "the friendliest little ghost town in Alaska?" If not, why don’t you pack up the kids and the pic- nic basket and head up there next weekend, a last major outing before winter? Just a three-and-a-half hour drive from Terrace, via Kitwanga on Highway 37 north, Hyder is two kilometres west of Stewart, B.C. Hyder is on the Portland Canal, "nestled in southeast Alaska’s spectacular glacier country", ac- cording to.a Hyder tourism promo- tion pamphlet. There are more than 20 glaciers in the area, ranging from the beautiful blue Bear Glacier just east of Stewart, to the magnificent Salmon Glacier, north of Hyder, on the way to Westmin Gold Mine (in B.C.). Hyder is a unique U.S. border village for many reasons. There are no customs facilities, Canadian or American, at the border. Al! that denotes the border crossing is a banner strung across Hyder’s bumpy gravel main street that says, "Welcome io Hyder, Alaska". "Main Street” is a relative term. ~ Tcounted 10 buildings on Hyder’s main street, many of them 1930's vintage or earlier. Of the 10, only five are operational. One is the famous Glacier Inn, an Alaskan pub open 21 hours per day (the apparent norm in Alaska). This is where, for a small fee, you can get *Hyderized’. Give them a visit to find out more. There is a general store-cum- souvenir store, a video store-cum- souvenir store, a small diner with large portions of excellent food: and a particularly impressive breakfast, and a fish and chips shop. The architecture on some of the buildings is intricate and quite beautiful, despite the weathered exteriors. Hyder ‘uses only Canadian money, (except at the Hyder post . office, which will accept only U. S. funds) perhaps because there are no banks in Hyder. Hyder js on B. C. time, one hour later than the rest of Alaska. The children of Hyder attend school In the neighbouring town of Stewart. . Hyder has no sales or property taxes. And despite its proximity to . and connection with Canada, the few Hyder residents J Interviewed are not the least bit concerned “Hyder has no sales or Property taxes... residents are not the feast bit concerned about the GST." about the GST. There is no police force in Hy- der. The residents police them- selves, although the laws of the United States and Alaska are obeyed. Hyder currently has a population of between 50 and 70 people, depending on the season. Many of the tourist-related businesses close for the winter months and their Owners move to warmer climes for the winter, Contrary to the many t-shirts asking the question, "Where the hell is Hyder, Alaska?", Hyder is well known to many U. S. and Canadian travellers because of it’s ‘unique geographic and social set- ting. For the few of you who haven’t yet visited, I’d highly recommend it. And if you don’t have time this fall, our July 1st Canada Day combined with the U.S. Independence on July 4th is a wild and noisy time to participate in the celebrations of both Hyder, Alaska and Stewart, B.C. In November 1979, they reno- vated the lounge into the Hunter’s Den. In 1980, the liquor licensing laws changed the area to a holding © lounge only. That, along with the recession in the early 1980s, brought some trying years for: them, as for many others. They worked 18- to 20-hour days for nine years, until they closed the cabaret in 1984. That same year, Fritz left Terrace for Vancouver. Gus vacated the kitchen as chef when Fritz left. But he carried on as chief orderer, menu planner with the assistance of his chefs, administrator and staff organizer. Gus has always believed in work- ing 4s a team with his staff, num- bering 13 to 20 at peak times. No one was ¢ver designated as boss, The staff is well-trained and they. have always been encouraged to be innovative. Because of their good training and the current condition of the Bavarian Inn, the Bavarian Staff is now is in demand by many of the other local restauranteurs looking for extra Christmas staff. In February of 1989, the veran- dah was enclosed to become the "solarium". The most recent plans were to change the downstairs banquet room into a neighbour- hood pub. Gus has always believed that "quality must be our number one aim. I like good things and we want good things for our cus- tomers, and. the community as a whole." Gus and Heli hope to begin rebuilding the Bavarian Ian in carly spring. The present building will be taken down to the concrete foundation, if engineers’ testing OKs the foundation structure, They Will still be going ahead with plans to include a Neighbourhood Pub in the facility. And Gus assures customers that the restaurant will be "better and brighter, with the ‘same high standards of service, cuisine and atmosphere”. Pet of the Week certainly not up for adoption. couple of weeks ago by flying oy, ps This week's pet isn’t a pet at all, it’s a wild animal and A hawk that injured its wing a into the side of a Lakelse Lake home has been receiving therapy at the Shelter before being retumed to the wild, Terrace Animal