Our Story
A century at the corner of King and Market Square.
Irene Morrison opened the diner in 1921 and moved it to 318 King in 1925, when her husband Vinny left the Grand Trunk Railroad to join her at the grill. The Poulos brothers — John and Peter — bought Morrison's in 1962 and ran it for nearly thirty years, with John arriving at 4 a.m. to bake muffins for the hospital crowd. Mike Argiris and his family have run the place since 1990, and short-order chef Burtchie Burtch has been at the grill for forty-six years. The window seats still face Springer Market Square, and the regulars — Lorne Greene during his Queen's days, members of The Tragically Hip, Jim Cuddy on a first date with the woman he would marry — still get what they came for, no menu required.
In their words
As featured in the Kingston Whig Standard.
“When I bought it, people said I didn't buy a restaurant, I bought an institution. I didn't even know what that word meant back then.”
“They don't have to tell us what they want. We know what they want.”
Visit Us
Come see us in person.
We're locally owned and happy to chat. Stop by any day of the week.
- Address
- 318 King St E
Kingston, ON K7L 3A4 - Phone
- (613) 542-9483
- Hours
- Monday 6:00 AM – 7:00 PMTuesday 6:00 AM – 7:00 PMWednesday 6:00 AM – 7:00 PMThursday 6:00 AM – 7:00 PMFriday 6:00 AM – 7:00 PMSaturday 6:00 AM – 7:00 PMSunday 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Pull up a stool.
318 King St E, across from the Market Square. Open seven days. Coffee's already on.