Wally Pokora, an icon of Montreal burger chain Dic Ann’s, has died at the age of 69.
An online memorial to Pokora (sometimes known as Walter) states that he died on Tuesday (February 5).
One of those staple welcoming faces at a local institution, Pokora may not have been a famed chef or restaurateur, but a beloved and welcoming figure, and possibly Montreal’s longest serving restaurant worker, having spent 55 years at the restaurant, primarily at the Pie-IX (Montréal-Nord) location. He also became the namesake for two of Dic Ann’s burgers, the Wallyburger and Wallyburger Supreme.
Tributes to Pokora are flowing in on social media, remembering him as a good-humoured and kind storytelling jokester (pictured above in a turkey hat), and a veritable pillar of the business.
Pokora is survived by his son Walter, daughter Nathalie, sister Luba, and seven grandchildren.