The story of a small Halifax restaurant getting praised in the New York Times

After more than 70 years of serving hungry customers from all over the Halifax area, the Armview Restaurant and Lounge received some international exposure over the weekend.

A longstanding Halifax restaurant has received international acclaim after one loyal customer submitted a glowing review to the New York Times, without expecting her short paragraph would reach millions.

The Armview Restaurant and Lounge, located on the city’s northwest arm, is known as one of Halifax’s oldest food establishments having first opened in 1951.

Christa Hornberger, who’s lived in the area for almost 30 years, says she submitted her praises for the Armview after she saw a columnist from the Times requesting input from Canadian restaurant-goers on their favourite eateries.

“I’ve been coming here for as long as I’ve lived in Halifax,” she said. “I thought ‘Why not?’ so, I just drafted those few lines and sent it off.”

In her letter, later published in a Dec. 30 column titled “When a Restaurant Is More Than a Place to Dine”, Hornberger described the Armview as a “mainstay in the neighbourhood. The diner décor is mostly original with some upgrades, along with the menu, which still features such longtime favourites as liver and onions (although I suspect it’s not the most popular item on the menu). The patrons are a diverse group of folks from not just the neighbourhood but from across the city.”

Hornberger said she completely forgot that she even sent off a review to the Times, which has a worldwide digital readership of more than 9 million subscribers, until she later received an email stating that an edited version was about to be included in the publication’s upcoming Canadian newsletter.

“I forwarded it to the Armview and told them they made it in the New York Times,” she said, adding that she wasn’t aware when exactly her comments were going to be published until a friend told her that they were being discussed on a local radio station — all as they were dining at their favourite restaurant.

Julie White, Armview’s general manager, said finding out the restaurant was profiled in one of the most circulated newspapers worldwide was “a really special moment.”