Editor's note: The article was written prior to Marv Garriott announcing on Aug. 17 that he will be closing his diner on the Labour Day weekend.
Nostalgia is a feast for all of the senses at Diamond Valley’s own destination diner.
Marv’s Classic Soda Shop has become a staple in the community since it opened in 2000 with a completely different list of items on the menu, explains owner Marv Garriott.
“It came from a dream of not being in the food business anymore and starting an antique store,” Garriott says. “And then somehow the antique store whittled away and then ice cream and candy came in and then somebody mentioned hot dogs.
“Then it went from there.”
With a decade of experience in the bar and restaurant business in Calgary, Garriott says he was quite happy with the idea of being able to close shop at 5 p.m.
“It sort of evolved into this whole thing,” he says. “Some of the stuff I had left over from the antique business I was in, and I always collected diner stuff over the years.
“It went on from there and we finally added the kitchen.”
A travelling musician, Garriott previously owned a restaurant in High River and had the opportunity with a friend to check out an antique store in the city.
“And it was a building about this size with two floors and a whole full basement. He said, ‘Why don’t you just buy the whole place?’
“On the way home, we discussed it and we decided. I had a 1956 Cadillac at the time and I traded in that, and with about $35,000, bought everything in the building.”
For about three years, the diner existed as an antique store at the turn of the 21st century.
There was always a component of candy as well, with cold and hot treats added to the equation.
“I was born and raised in High River, it was a town of about 3,000 people and I like the small-town stuff,” he says. “So, this was a pretty good fit.”
Garriott says the small-town charm fits the feel-good aspect that ‘50s diners emit, noting a particular moment that hit home following the 9-11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
“I had a lady come in the door and she said, ‘It’s really bad these days, you can’t walk anywhere or go anywhere and feel safe,’” he says. “And she said, ‘And I walked through that front door and I felt safe.’
“And I get that so much. I’ve had people come in and do feng shui and they’ll say there’s not a bad thing in this whole building, it’s all happiness. I was actually going to advertise it as ‘The Second Happiest Place on Earth.’”
Garriott says it’s getting increasingly challenging to both source authentic material from the era and find individuals with the tools and know-how to repair vintage items.
“We’ve got things that are near impossible to replace,” he says. “Sadly, I think the reason is nobody is collecting it anymore.
“But when the kids come in here, they sit at the table and put money in the jukebox and hear the vinyl, there’s nothing warmer than vinyl. I was a musician for 30 years and the difference between a tube and a transistor is night and day. It just has a warm, comfortable sound and it adds to the feeling in the building.”
Garriott says those that have the Marv’s Classic Soda Shop experience will remember it for the rest of their lives, adding the sound of the soda fountain in the restaurant takes him back to his youth in High River.
“You meet so many nice people,” he says. “Before I lost my voice, with my fingers I can’t play guitar much anymore, I would always go and sing songs for the people.
“Anybody that walks in this place, I don’t care where they’re from, I’ve got a story for them because I’ve either been there, done that, been through it or been broke there.”
In order to craft a menu suitable to the era, Garriott says he made a number of purchases from a classic soda fountain in Helena, Montana and did first-hand research on American diner cuisine.
“I was raised in it, but here in Alberta is way different than Chicago or California and I learned a lot,” he says. “We went to California a couple of times and went to every diner we could, and out of every one we went do down there, they all had a jukebox and not one of them worked.”
The current jukebox at the diner was originally used at Calaway Park.
Garriott’s gone through a few music machines, but they very much remain in working order due in part to the kindness of a jukebox hero from Nanton.
“A fella and his wife come in here and they made three mistakes,” he says with a laugh. “First one, he came in. Second one, he mentioned he used to work on them for a time. Third one, he gave me his phone number.
“I got a hold of him and he took this one, he totally stripped the whole thing down and completely redid it.”
The menu includes diner staples executed with care from juicy burgers and creamy milkshakes to a few items that are seldom seen at restaurants.
“We’re probably the only people in Canada who make a malt,” he says. “I bring my malt powder up from Wisconsin and that’s pretty good. Now, we discovered an old recipe they used in the old days. Before they used citric acid, they used a thing called phosphate.
“Somebody found that old recipe and got it going again so I ordered a few bottles off the internet, did some research off the name and it’s actually made in Canada.”
Phosphate has a similar effect bitters have an alcoholic beverages, Garriott explains, making it good for calming a stomach after a meal.
“We’re contemplating now using it in all of our drinks,” he says.
In addition to the taste of nostalgia at Marv’s, the meat is sourced locally and its ice cream comes from Foothills Creamery.
Garriott says the clientele can vary significantly from those stumbling on the place to individuals travelling thousands of kilometres to get a taste of the ’50s.
“A steady customer for me, we had a couple that came from Scotland for 30-some odd years,” he says. “I was thinking about them this year, I hadn’t seen them for a couple of years, of course post-COVID, and sure enough the old couple came in again this year.
“I’ve got people in from Britain, Australia, all over the world. We get lots just going out to Kananaskis or down south to the (United) States and to B.C.”
Recently, he’s had diner-goers travel to the area especially to visit the restaurant from Ottawa and North Carolina.
“It’s great,” he says. “I’m having troubles leaving it. I’m having some health issues and I’ve been 24 years here.
“Everything is going pretty good, but in the winter time out here, everything you make in the summer is gone by the winter. I’m not making much money on it, so nobody really wants to buy it and it’s a tough thing to just let go.”
Garriott sees some similarities between the diner and his beloved Gibson 1972 235 guitar. After 50 years, he gifted it to his son earlier this summer.
“This will be hard,” he says. “Every day, you see so many people go, ‘It means so much to us to be able to come in and actually get service and you don’t need a stupid cell phone to read the menu.’
“It’s an experience from the past that very few people have anymore and it’s tough to just let it go.”
Though the pandemic was a beast to overcome for the hospitality industry, the period actually boosted business at Marv’s.
“They kept Calgary locked up so they all came out here,” he says. “Plus, most things here (in Diamond Valley) were closed so we got a lot of local traffic and customers we never had before.
“This year, we’ve been up over 30 to 50 per cent every month and it’s getting back to normal now, just a lot more people are finding us now.”
Garriott says his lease is up in September and he would very much like to find the right kind of buyer for the location, adding there’s untapped potential with the population and business growth being seen in the Diamond Valley area.
“It’s for sale and very reasonable, but it’s going to take somebody who wants to work,” he says. “There’s no family dining out here in the evening, if we got somebody in here who could run it in the winter, even to nine o’clock, they would do good.
“The summer gets you good, but you’ve got to maintain the winter.”
