The old circus

val mandujano
Jan 22, 2024
5 min read

Updated: Feb 5, 2024

If you buy a new place, you would never expect to find a hiden story behid, do you? And even less if it is about an old circus that played an important role in the Canadian history.

By Val Mandujano

Jan. 17, 2023

Steve Murphy never imagined the story that was hiding behind the restaurant he bought five years ago.

It was 2018.

After ten years of running the Blue Mussel Cafe in North Rustico, Murphy and his wife, Christine MacQuaid, decided to buy another place.

Friday nights at Slaymaker. VAL MANDUJANO PHOTO

They wanted it to run for the full year, instead of just Blue Mussel which only opens during summer and early fall.

After looking for a while, they found a place in downtown Charlottetown.

A historic old colonial house built in 1912, found on the corner of Queen Street and Fitzroy.

Curious, Murphy looked on Google for the address of the building.

The only thing that came out was a poster of an 1864 circus advertisement.

“That was what caught our eye. That ad was a notch that tied it all together,” Murphy said.

After a year of renovations, Slaymaker & Nichols Gastro House opened in November of 2019.

Back to Confederation

Back in 1864, a circus arrived in Charlottetown.

It was a project started by William Nichols; a performer of another company directed by James Nixon.

That company was not doing well, so Nichols decided to abandon it at start his own circus.

Henry Slaymaker, a wealthy man, heard about the new idea and decided to join.

The circus was a success.

People all over the Maritime provinces came to the city to see acrobats, trained monkeys, somersaults and clowns in the Slaymaker and Nichols Olympic Circus.

“It’s amazing how many people don’t know the story,” said Murphy. "The circus had a huge influence when it comes to Canadian Confederation.

After arriving in the city on August 30th, 1864, Slaymaker & Nichols Circus set up their tents on the corner of Queen Street and Fitzroy.

They were preparing for a four-day run performance.

At the same time, the political leaders of the Maritime Colonies were discussing a possible union with the U.S.

When the rest of Canadian leaders heard about that plan, they decided they wanted to persuade the Maritimes to join them and unite Canada.

The Conference was going to take place on August 31st.

That day, the leaders arrived in Charlottetown despite not being invited.

While the Conference was going on, screams of happiness and music could be heard from the downtown circus tents.

The mood of the Eastern and Western provincial leaders softened and eventually Confederation was born.

They drank and celebrated.

“We loved that there’s a story to tell. That literally can be a Netflix miniseries ... there’s just so much drama,” said Murphy.

“In my mind, I make the circus life more romantic than what maybe it was, but I just like the idea that these just two worlds collided by mistake.”

That story inspired Murphy and MacQuaid, from the decoration to the service they offer.

“The time the founding fathers had here at that circus, I think we kind of live that now. Right now, downstairs we have a ‘Happy hour’, there’s people singing. That same sort of jovial, friendly, easy-going atmosphere, that’s what I really tie to that circus. That’s what I get away from that.”

An iconic style

The restaurant is covered in elegant colonial decorations like lamps, chairs and paintings from the early 1900’s.

In addition to the restaurant, the place is also a small hotel. With three rooms upstairs, the decor mirrors in the same artsy stylish flare.

The walls on the diner are a deep indigo blue and there’s an artist-remake version of the original circus ad is framed on the front wall of the place.

There are luxurious chandeliers on the ceiling and big round warm light lamps beside the bar table.

"That’s Christine’s department. She was really going for that mixture of the era of the age of the house. So, all these colours and all these rooms ... and the main dining room, there are all a bit researched colors to back to 1912,” said Murphy. “So, all the paint colors look like back when the house was built, so she tried to honor that.”

In 2018, when the couple bought the house, McQuaid sat on the floor in the middle of the main room with bits of cutouts of fabrics, colors and pictures.

She used to spend hours making inspiration boards for every room.

It took around six months to finish the arrangements of how the final decoration would look like.

“It must have been 5,000 things of (those) things all over the floor. ... basically, like a crazy person in here, mixing and matching all these different spots,” he said. “But that’s how it sort of how it worked for her ... and she was right.”

In the dining room, worn old circus animal paintings decor the walls, elephant lamps and dark wood planks lead to the door for the upstairs floor where rooms for guests are.

Unique flavors variety

Along with the characteristic decoration of the diner, Slaymaker has a varied menu.

Thanks to Murphy and MacQuaid’s travels, they were able to add flavors to the dishes they serve from different parts of the world, like Peru, South Korea or Ireland.

"Christine and I travel fair amount. Then we take it in here to our head chef, who is fantastic with flavors.”

Balmy beach sandwich, a pulled pork sandwich with a chickpea and feta salad. VAL MANDUJANO PHOTO.

They offer breakfast, brunch and supper.

Some menu items from the supper menu are charcuterie boards, seafood, ramen, linguini, risotto and sandwiches, and changes seasonally depending on ingredients.

“It usually starts with Christine and I saying ‘Okay, we want to replace the old chicken dish with a new one or we want to add halibut or a new appetizer.’ We look around what ideas we’ve seen elsewhere, and we said how do we make that sort of P.E.I related.”

Slaymaker’s cocktail menu has some unique options like the Tiramisu Espresso Martini, that is prepared with infused chocolate vodka, or a PB & J Old Fashioned, with peanut butter infused vodka.

Bartender, Donie MacPhee arrived from Ontario to P.E.I in 2015.

He started working at Blue Mussel Cafe but when Slaymaker opened, he was offered a bartender position there.

"I've been here for a long time, so I know everybody very well. We’re like a family here. ... There’s always someone to talk to across the bar, questions to ask,” said MacPhee.

He enjoys preparing cocktails and meeting regular and new customers.

“That’s one of great things about this place, word of mouth is super powerful in a small town like this. ... Regulars are fun because they have a better idea of sort of what is going though in your day, they can see what’s happening,” he said.

Despite being a small restaurant, Slaymaker & Nichols Gastro House is now one of the top recommendations from locals.

And it is no surprise, thanks to its beautiful style decorations, cozy and warm dining atmosphere, quality service and attention and some unique dishes, drinks and flavors, it has received a warm reception from the community, regular customers ad tourists, during these four years of operation.

"I think becoming sort of a member of the community of Charlottetown, it’s amazing. Restaurants play a role in the vibe of the area, and this area didn’t have that,” said Murphy.

“That’s what provides the personality of the place, your regulars that come in."