A new business in Riversdale is hoping to become the Godfather of the restaurant scene in Saskatoon.

"I'm going to call it Two-Gun Quiche House and it's going to be a 1920s gangster theme," said owner Bill Mathews.

The name and theme of this new Italian restaurant is inspired by famous Saskatoon gangster Two-Gun Cohen.

Two-Gun Cohen grew up in London, but was sent to western Canada by his parents who hoped he would give up his pick-pocket lifestyle. Cohen worked on a farm near Whitewood, Saskatchewan and became friends with many Chinese labourers working along the Canadian Pacific Railway. He loved Chinese food and one day that led him to a restaurant along Avenue A in Saskatoon.

"When he walked into this Chinese restaurant for something to eat, the owner was being held up by two robbers. So, Two-Gun Cohen beat up two robbers, threw them out of the restaurant and gave the Chinese man back his money," said Mathews.

Cohen became a hero in the Chinese community and that eventually led him to a position in the Chinese army for Sun Yat-sen, the first president of the Republic of China.

Mathews hopes the rich history surrounding his restaurant will take people back in time.

"As soon as you walk into the restaurant, you're going to be taken right back to the 1920s. All the fixtures are 1920s style, the theme is 1920s style. I'm going to have pictures up of all the famous gangsters like Al Capone, Scarface, Bonnie and Clyde and also pictures of Riversdale, what it looked like back in its day," he said.

As for the food, Mathews said his quiche booth was so popular at the Saskatoon Farmer's Market, he wanted to expand to a full-fledged restaurant. While quiche is his speciality, this Italian-born chef also makes in homemade Italian sandwiches and soups.

"I do a quiche like you've never tasted before. It's way out there, everything's done right from scratch," he said.

Mathews was born in Italy, raised in Toronto, has owned an Italian restaurant in Vancouver and has worked as a chef for hotels in Toronto and Vancouver. When the Sheraton laid off 2,300 people across Canada, he lost his job in Vancouver and decided to move to Saskatoon, where he has family.

Now, he hopes the people of Saskatoon and Saskatchewan will become his new family.

"Anybody who walks through my door we treat them like family and they're going to be so glad to come back."

tburdeniuk@rawlco.com

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