Street Photography by Denis Bouvier

Light reflecting from Park Place Tower creates illusory windows on an otherwise bland, windowless cement and brick side wall of Hy’s Encore at 637 Hornby St. It’s a mystery, though, why there are no windows as well on the main level in the front of the building. There are two attractive stain glass windows on the 2nd level, and hanging in a drapelike design at the lower end of these two windows is Hy’s Encore sign, complete with a coat of arms, made entirely of cedar.

It’s no surprise, then, that inside Hy’s, the main level dining area is somewhat dark with subdued lighting. There are dark-wood mahogany panels, an ornate bar and old comfortable furniture set on plush carpets. On the walls are portraits collected by the original owner from European travels. The entire decor has been beautifully maintained since Hy’s Encore’s opening in 1962. Hy’s has been described by customers as being in the style of an old English gentleman’s club and even as a suite of rooms you would encounter in a Harry Potter film.

There’a also a narrow bricked tunnel walkway with an arched ceiling that leads down to the main dining room area – another mystery like the absence of windows. At the back of the dining area, you can see the original charcoal broiler behind a glass barrier.

Most reviews give Hy’s Encore great praise as one of Vancouver’s foremost steakhouses and, having been at this location for 50 years, they’re obviously doing something right. The original owner was Hy Aisenstat, the Albertan son of Russian-Jewish immigrants. He opened his first steak house in Calgary in 1955 and over a period of 33 years, with the help of his wife and three sons, opened several Hys in Vancouver, in other parts of Canada as well as in the US. For 10 years Hy’s was publicly traded on the Vancouver and Toronto Stock Exchanges and even offered a Hy’s credit card. His 3 sons have carried on his success and are also associated with the Keg Restaurants.

It may be that Hy’s has inherited some of its success from a previous business at this location and some feel that the tunnel may have been part of it. According to City records, Fred Deeley’s Bicycles was located in this building from the time it was built in 1937 until 1958. This is the same Deeley family that began selling the first Harley Davidson motorcycles in 1917, making it the oldest dealership in Canada. Fred Deeley Sr., “The Cycle Man,” came from England in 1912 and began importing and retailing Raleigh bicycles, BSA bicycles, and BSA motorcycles. Third generation Trev Deeley became the first Honda distributor for western Canada in 1957, later, the first Yamaha distributor in Canada and in 1973, the exclusive dealer for Harley Davidson in Canada. In the 40’s and 50’s he was the premier motorcycle racer in the Pacific Northwest and was inducted in the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 1995.

Over the years, the Deeley family has had bicycle and motorcycle dealerships at various locations in Vancouver and now has a major dealership on Boundary Road which also features a vintage motorcycle exhibition.
And so we have two diverse family histories with an unusual connection “behind those walls,” whose passion for their businesses has helped shape our local history.

Happy 50th Hy’s Encore and Happy 95th Deeley’s Motorcycles.

Don Richardson