Solid as a Rock

Feb 4, 2004

Paul Rellinger

Kyle Griffin/This Week
ON THE SAME PAGE : Joe Nabizadeh and Lorrie McMullen are no strangers to anyone who has ever entered the doors of the Rock Haven Motel and Convention Centre on Lansdowne Street West. Their natural warmth and personality remain a key factor in the business' rebirth and return to the popularity of yesteryear.

First things first. Joe Nabizadeh and Lorrie McMullen are not married. At least not to each other.

But they argue. Boy, do they argue.

And then they make up. And life goes on.

For Joe, the Rock Haven Motel and Convention Centre is home -- literally. As owner/operator of the Lansdowne Street West business for close to 11 years now, the 59-year-old Iran native also resides there full-time with his wife Meno Lubib and their son Ali , 29.

For Lorrie, the Rock Haven Motel and Convention Centre is her home away from home. It has been for many years now, off and on, but steady since 1992 when Joe purchased the complex.

The family home for the 44-year-old Peterborough native and her musician husband Barry is elsewhere in Peterborough.

However, "The Rock" is where she thrives, where many say she rules, as the gatekeeper of Joe's kingdom.

"If we were married, we wouldn't be able to work together," says Lorrie during a brief respite from her many daily chores.

"We don't agree on everything. We have arguments but the customer always comes first. That's the way it has always been and that's the way it always will be. Good food and customer service -- that's what people expect and that's what people deserve."

Joe nods his head in agreement.

"When people come here, Joe and Lorrie say welcome. When they leave, Joe and Lorrie are here to say good-bye...and thank-you."

Joe and Lorrie aren't exactly two peas in a pod but, together, they're solid.

As solid as The Rock they've brought back from the dead and nurtured like proud parents ever since.

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What do most successful partnerships have in common?

Well, somewhere along the line, fate intervenes to give birth to the eventual coupling. The tale that is Joe Nabizadeh and Lorrie McMullen is no different.

Living in Spain in 1976, Joe crossed the Atlantic for the United States but there were tears on his arrival.

Arriving in Atlanta, Georgia, he embraced his sister and consoled her on the death of her husband. He was murdered during a hold-up at his Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.

Joe offered his help and help he did, running the business with his sister until 1980. But then helping family was nothing new for this proud but unassuming man. With four brothers and four sisters, there had always been plenty of opportunity to do so back home.

Meanwhile, in Peterborough, Lorrie had met the love of her life.

She and Barry married in 1979 but the entertainment business dictated a move and move they did, to Montreal, where Barry plied his trade as a musician.

Montreal was the couple's home for 13 years before they moved back to Peterborough so Lorrie, like the intriguing man she was yet to meet, could deal with a family tragedy. Her sister in Oakville had cancer and she wanted to be live closer to her. She eventually passed away.

Two tragic deaths. Two different courses of action for two very different people, setting them down different paths that would eventually merge into one.

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In 1983, Joe Nabizadeh learned and honed his craft in the world of pots 'n' pans that is George Brown College in Toronto.

Two years later, his chef papers in hand, he opened an Italian restaurant in the Bloor/Islington area of Toronto.

Two years after that, he was running a similar operation in the heart of the city at Church and Wellesley streets.

On the move again in 1989, Joe and Meno settled in Smith Falls, where they owned and operated The Old Windmill, a smaller version of the Peterborough hotel/convention centre that loomed in his future.

"Ali was going to the University of Waterloo, so we were looking to live somewhere closer to Toronto so we'd be a little closer to him," recalls Joe.

"A friend of mine called and said he knows of a place in Peterborough that's in receivership. We also looked at places in Lindsay and Collingwood but Peterborough seemed like a nice place to live, so we took a look at this place (the Rock Haven)."

That was in 1992. The Rock Haven was indeed in financial trouble.

Owner Carl Burton had run a thriving business for years -- Lorrie worked at the landmark business for seven years in the 1970s -- but the gig was up. The bank had taken over, asking Lorrie, working as the Rock Haven's night manager, to look after the operation on its behalf.

"Around the end of '92, the bank came in and had a meeting with the staff and informed us of the takeover. That was tough.

"Shortly after that, they told me someone was coming through to look at the place. It was Joe and Meno and a friend of theirs.

"Joe was in a suit...very professional. He smiled and shook my hand and that was that."

The visitor liked what he saw -- "A lot of potential but a lot of work."

On April 14, 1993, the papers signed, Joe assumed ownership of the Rock Haven. He also made what proved to be one of the most prudent business decisions he had ever made -- he kept Lorrie on.

"Actually, I kept all the staff...no one lost their job," recalls Joe.

"I told them they have to prove themselves to me. But Lorrie...she had no problem. She was a hard worker; very intelligent."

And so it began.

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"We didn't close one day," recalls Lorrie of the transition.

"We basically had to re-build the place. We had to change the perception. When I was a kid, there were three places you went after church on Sunday -- Jeff Purvey's, Miss Diana and the Rock Haven. We had to get back to that."

What followed was four years or so of extensive renovations, starting with the kitchen, the dining room and the banquet halls. Eventually, the motel rooms also received a serious facelift.

Today, the Rock Haven boasts breakfast and dining rooms, 11 banquet halls of varying sizes and 87 motel rooms.

At the helm -- as the staff habitually call him -- is Papa Joe and, always, Lorrie right by his side. Their cluttered desks in the small business office, abutting against one another, reflect their closeness.

"Joe's a worker...he leads by example," assesses Lorrie.

"Buying the place was scary but, in my heart, I knew I could do it," notes Joe.

And do it he has with Lorrie's help.

Over the years, customers have exhibited a fierce loyalty. Among them are Fisher-Gauge, Lakefield Research and G.E. Canada, each of which annually book The Rock for company functions.

Political dignitaries, wearing name tags that have read Chretien, Martin, Rock, Manley, Harris, Eves and McGuinty, to name a few, have dug into Joe's ample buffet food.

"Always dealing with happy people...that is my reward," says Joe, the trademark tooth-filled grin crossing his face, the raucous laugh following.

"If you're not ready to work, all day and all night, stay away from this business. For me, people returning and saying 'Thank you' makes it worth it. Sure, it's hard work but I wouldn't want to do anything else."

***

Early one Saturday evening, with the dexterity of a traffic cop, Lorrie is directing the action.

This table first. OK, now this table.

And so on and so on.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Joe is hunched over the counter, making sure all is just right.

Around both of them, The Rock is alive; waitresses - "My girls" as Lorrie calls them - scurrying here and there; a well-rehearsed ballet which sees practical non-slip shoes, not dance slippers, skitter across the floor.

The food served and things well under way, Lorrie takes time to sit and rest for a moment. There's a lost-in-thought look in her eyes.

Maybe she's reflecting on the day, in this same building back in January 1979, that she first met her future husband.

Maybe her thoughts are with her daughter Katherine and her granddaughter Kara .

Or maybe she's simply feeling satisfied over another job well done.

Whatever the case, rest assured she's exactly where she wants to be.

"Loooooooori," comes Joe's cry for help from the kitchen.

Back to work.