Historic Sites of Manitoba: Champs Motor Inn / Plaza Motor Inn / Osborne Village Motor Inn (160 Osborne Street, Winnipeg)

This three-storey structure on Osborne Street in Winnipeg was built in 1965 by famed restaurant owner Oscar Grubert and named the Champs Motor Inn. Grubert envisioned it as the first in a chain of entertainment hotels. It had a British theme, including a Rolls-Royce courtesy car for picking up and delivering VIPs, a Cock ‘N Bull restaurant, with seating for 125 people, that featured a barbecue for grilling steaks with a “true cooked outdoors” taste. Within five years, Grubert had sold it to the Kives family who renamed it the Plaza Inn. Known for its raucous nightlife, the hotel was closed in 2015 and demolished in early 2020.

Postcard view of Plaza Motor Inn (no date) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2021-0023 Osborne Village Motor Inn (August 2015) Source: George Penner Osborne Village Motor Inn (July 2018) Source: Holly Thorne Osborne Village Motor Inn (February 2020) Source: George Penner Osborne Village Motor Inn under demolition (April 2020) Source: Elise Watchorn Osborne Village Motor Inn under demolition (April 2020) Source: Elise Watchorn Site Location (lat/long): N49.87728, W97.14389 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Oscar Bert Grubert (1929-2014)

Sources:

We thank Holly Thorne, George Penner, and Elise Watchorn for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 14 June 2021

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