Calgary restaurant serves up $1.98 pasta with throwback to 1970s pricing
Posted Oct 28, 2026 12:37 pm.
Calgarians lined up for hours on Tuesday to take advantage of a rare chance to pay 1970s prices for a restaurant meal.
The Old Spaghetti Factory’s Marlborough location in northeast Calgary celebrated its 10th anniversary by offering menu items for less than $2.
The restaurant rolled back prices to those found on an original 1970 menu, drawing crowds eager to enjoy dishes such as Mushroom Alfredo Spaghetti for just $1.98.
The promotion prompted long lines outside the restaurant throughout the day, with some customers waiting between one and two hours to get inside.
“We’re here for the awesome spaghetti deals… well, menu prices,” one customer said while waiting in line.
Another diner said they learned about the promotion on social media the night before.
“I pretty much found out about this on Instagram like last night, and then I kind of told him last night not to eat anything before coming.”
The restaurant expected about 2,000 people to take advantage of the one-day offer.
Chris Kanuka, senior vice-president of The Old Spaghetti Factory Canada, said the idea came from years of collecting original restaurant menus dating back to the chain’s early years.
“Our original location was opened in March 1970 and so over the years people have sent me old original menus for us to keep. I’ve been trying to collect what was the original menu, and finally about three years ago I got this one that was the first one below two dollars,” Kanuka said.
Customers said the lengthy wait was well worth the savings.
“We remember when cannabis was legalized and the lineups were like three times as long back in the day. So if people waited in line for that, why wouldn’t you wait in line for $1.98 pasta?” one diner said.
For some, the low prices also made dining out more accessible.
“First time that we’ve all been out to eat dinner together in months,” another customer said.
In addition to serving up inexpensive meals, the restaurant said proceeds from the promotion will be donated to the Calgary Food Bank.
“What’s even more special is that people are donating on top of that to the food bank so it’s not just the two bucks it’s also their donations and I think a lot of people are looking and going well here I’ll give a little bit more,” Kanuka said.
