Those Burke Guys

                                       THOSE BURKE GUYS OF BELLEVILLE    

Every once in a while we meet a truly unique but regular ‘Joe’ who leaves a lifelong impression on us. 

I started to write a short tribute honouring my old pal Joe Burke who passed away in 2017 at 91 years of age. As I begin to write about Joe, another name kept popping up from my research; Joe’s dad, Harry Burke.

Harry Burke

1886 was a year of firsts; Karl Benz patents the first burning motor car, Robert Louis Stevenson publishes The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jacobs Pharmacy in Atlanta sells the first Coca Cola (which contains cocaine)…and Harry Burke is born! His parents emigrated from Poland to New York and then settle in Toronto where Harry works as a traveling hat salesman in the menswear business.

Harry meets another enterprising gentleman named Joseph Diamond who is a  men’s clothier from Belleville and also Harry’s uncle and the family arranges a marriage between Harry and the lovely Rose before he heads off to serve in WW1

In 1920 Harry Burke once again establishes himself as a men’s clothier at 201 Front Street and in 1925, buys a house on West Bridge Street and works alongside his dad for a few years but falls on hard times during the Great Depression of the 1930s and loses his beloved clothing store. The Depression creates hardship, unemployment, and despondency in our community that lingers throughout the decade.

He works as a general labourer for a few years until the devastating flood in downtown Belleville of March 1936 destroys approximately 75 city acres from floodwaters that measure up to seven feet deep! It is a tough time for Harry, his family, and our community of 14,000 people but he, along with our town never gives up.

 While helping restore the damage caused by the tragic flood, Harry looks for another way to survive and in 1938 he rents out the main floor of his house at 23 West Bridge Street, moves his family upstairs, and opens a hamburger stand on the second floor of the house. 

People are drawn to the smell of frying hamburgers and onions wafting from the open upstairs window and Harry soon has a long line of hamburger lovers waiting for their 10 cent burger from The Classy Lunch burger stand!

Business is so good that Harry buys the building next door at 25 West Bridge Street, expands his business, and changes the name to Harry Burkes Hamburgers.  Crowds come just to hang out, have a burger and coke and listen to the jukebox. Harry’s ‘tailor-made deluxe hamburgers are the talk of the town and people love them. (the slogan comically referred to his previous career as a tailor).

There is no Highway 401 in the 1940s and traffic near the little stand is very busy so Harry and Rose’s hard work pays off and they become the proud owners of one of the busiest burger restaurant joints between Ottawa, Kingston, and Toronto!

They sell the hamburger business in Belleville and retire to Toronto in 1955.

Joe Burke

Joseph Isaac Burke was born in downtown Belleville at 316 1/2 Front Street on September 16, 1927, and realized at a very young age that he had a passion for making and saving money. He helped his dad Harry after school by sweeping up cloth cuttings and thread from the floor of Harry’s  Men’s Furnishings store and eventually quits school to work as an office boy for the railroad.

Joe works at various jobs such as a delivery driver for Woodland Cleaners and at a cigar factory in town. He works for Goodmans Store for Men for four years before opening his own spot on Front Street in 1950 and In the early 1960’s he opens Honest Joe’s department store with his long time friend and mentor Billy Mayer but sadly the store burned down and a year later Joe opened Joe Burke Men’s Apparel located in Bayview Mall (Belleville Plaza). This store is Joe’s home away from home for 38 years and a favourite shopping destination for the dapper gents of Belleville who loved the great quality and custom fit of a Burke’s suit. 

Joe loves the business and it is a hobby as much as his life. His specialty is getting custom-made suits for clients. Clients choose material and price range and Joe designs the suit to fit the person and cuts the material made to measure. He also designs custom-made pants, jackets, and ladies slacks. There’s a tailor on staff for alterations and it’s literally a one-stop-shop! He and Ethel retire in 1996 but that doesn’t last long.

He comes out of retirement a couple of years later and opens Joe Burke’s Men’s Apparel on the second floor at 257 North Front Street in Belleville and at first specializes in custom tailoring but soon branches out to a full menswear store. 

On his 76th birthday in 2003, Joe Burke opens a new Men’s Store in downtown Belleville at 388 Front Street selling suits, sweaters, shirts, pants, hats, and coats.

Joe is fond of saying “Retirement isn’t for everyone, it takes you half your life to learn the business and if you love the business why not stay in it!”

I was a brand new realtor in 1979 and spent a lot of duty time at the Bayview Mall kiosk beside Joe’s store. We have many visits together and he always keeps one eye on the door in case a customer or even someone he knows drops by to see him. He seems to know everyone in town and introduces me to the people we meet as ‘that hotshot real estate lady. Connie Carson, give her a call’.  If I forget to give someone my business card, I know Joe will hurry out of his store to remind me. Joe is a savvy businessman and I learn a lot about selling by just hanging around and listening to his stories.

In the spring of 2004, I connect with Joe again as we now work a block apart on Front Street. I stop by from time to time to see how he’s doing and to do a little shopping. He looks up over his bifocals, greets me like it’s my first time in the store, and shows me his latest fashion finds. We talk about the good old days, the weather, our kids, and our mutual friends for a few minutes and I always leave with a big smile for the latest joke he tells. He is in his late 80’s and still working every day but talking about another retirement in his future.           

‘He was returning to his roots because his dad started a clothing business downtown and Joe was returning here after all these years.
~Henry Bury Sept 17, 2003 Intell

Here are a few memories from customers of Joe

‘Bought my first suit at Joe Burke’s store. One corduroy brown suit. Excellent. Loved visiting the store. Joe always had a personal way with you, great stories, and a respected friend to my father.’

‘I have great memories of Joe Burke. I worked overseas for many years and when home would buy a suit and shirts. I recall visiting Joe on Front St and he told me he catered to big and tall men, but wait…he would find something in my size. He must have gone through his entire stock – all large sizes – and finally found what he called the one-pound suit, a very lightweight summer suit, my size. He would never let a customer get away without a sale. Always jovial.’

‘I remember being sent to the store to get a white shirt for my dad. Sent with no money which kind of dismayed the clerk but not Mr. Burke who knew my dad was good for it, did he say “hell yes” or something to that effect?’

‘I worked for Joe as a teenager at the Belleville Plaza while going to school – Moira

He was a character for sure, but more importantly, he was a great mentor and friend to me and my family.

He even let me take my driver’s license test in his big convertible!

I even attended Joe’s wedding to Ethel.

He is truly missed -‘

                   JOSEPH ISAAC BURKE 1917-2017. My Tailor Made Friend