When Charlie Plentai returned to Welland, Ontario from serving in the Second World War, wages were 20 cents an hour.

Still, Charlie together with parents George and Katrina and sister Angie, took their life savings of $3,000 and purchased a property on King Street with the goal of opening a restaurant which catered to the average Joe.

It was 1946 when the restaurant opened under the name The Balkan Restaurant but was renamed in 1947 to the Blue Star, a name said to have been inspired from an apple crate.

It was also in 1947 that Charlie married Gertrude who brought a number of her own recipes to the Blue Star kitchen.

Featuring home-made, large portions with a friendly atmosphere was clearly a recipe for success as the Blue Star continued to grow and succeed.

According to his friends, Charlie never quite admitted how well he was doing, telling them "I'm losing my shirt."

But with their success, Charlie and Gertrude never forgot their reason for opening the Blue Star - to be a family restaurant catering to the working class.

Today, more than sixty years later, the Blue Star is still family operated and continues to thrive.

It's no wonder the Blue Star Restaurant is considered a Welland legend.

• Honourable Mention in Dining Guide: The Cheap Gourmet's Guide to the Niagara Region;
• Winner of What's Up Magazine: Highlighting the restaurant as one of the best in the Niagara Region;
• Winner of Reader's Choice Awards;
• Winner of Pulse Magazine Award
• Winner of Niagara This Week's Reader's Choice Awards including: Best Family Restaurant, Best Breakfast, Best Lunch, Best Dinner, Best Takeout, Best Cheap Restaurant in Niagara, Best Steak, Fine Dining, Best Overall Dinner Specials;
• Acknowledged Throughout the Community for Ongoing Support.