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Dundas welcomes The West Wing; Popular NBC TV series will convert DeLuxe Restaurant into an ice-cream parlour for film shoot

by Doug Foley
The Hamilton Spectator

The DeLuxe Restaurant in downtown Dundas is about to enjoy a new life as an ice-cream parlour.

And one of its first customers will likely be Hollywood star Jimmy Smits.

But don't start loading the kids into the car and heading to the old King Street West eatery for a cone or sundae.

The DeLuxe's new lease on life will only be for a few days as a location for the NBC TV program The West Wing.

The popular series will be in and around Dundas from Dec. 4 to 9 shooting scenes for an episode featuring Smits, the former NYPD and L.A. Law star who joined The West Wing this season as Matt Santos, a Congressman with presidential aspirations.

City of Hamilton film liaison officer Jacqueline McNeilly says the episode is supposed to be taking place in New Hampshire, an important primary state in presidential races.

No one was available at The West Wing production office in the Los Angeles area yesterday to explain why Dundas was chosen.

McNeilly said series star Martin Sheen will not be part of the scenes shot in Dundas, but co-star Bradley Whitford is scheduled to be in town.

The film crew will also be shooting at The Plainsman Restaurant on Highway 5, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, a residence on Sydenham Road, an arena and in Flamborough. The DeLuxe Restaurant has been closed to customers since 1979 when owner Du Wong died. His widow, Sue, who died in March at age 103, left the restaurant intact.

It is currently up for lease and the TV shoot will be the first time the doors have opened for business since 1979.

And while the DeLuxe will be converted to an ice-cream parlour for the shoot, the neighbouring Cabin Fever clothing store will be typecast as a clothing store.

Owner Catherine Boyle said the store will also keep its own name.

"They liked the name," she said. "They liked the look of the store and that's why they chose us."

She said Smits will be part of the shoot in her business on Dec. 6.

Boyle said location scouts checked out her store and others in the downtown area a couple of weeks ago and came back twice before agreeing to use her business.

The Plainsman Restaurant will be standing in for a retirement home in Idaho when the film crew moves there on Dec. 7.

Owner Mike Good said crews will be making some changes to the front of the business to convert it to its new identity.

"We are supposed to be in the corn belt," he said. "I think they are doing a few episodes."

Film officer McNeilly said Dundas seems pretty excited about the shoot. Her office has been flooded with calls about it since word began to spread that The West Wing was coming.

McNeilly also reported that Hamilton will be home base for a Canadian made-for-TV movie about last year's SARS epidemic.

Plague City will be filming today and for the next week and a half around the city, including City Hall.

The film stars Kari Matchett, who spent a fair amount of time in Hamilton as one of the stars of Power Play, the CTV series about the Hamilton-based hockey team, The Steelheads.

And Mark Wahlberg is slated to shoot his next movie, The Four Brothers, in Hamilton in late January and early February.

The movie is being directed by John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Shaft).

"They will be doing a lot of filming in the North End," said McNeilly.

She is also keeping her fingers crossed that the CTV series The 11th Hour will find a big audience when it starts airing its third season Saturday at 10 p.m.

The series starring Sonja Smits (no relation to The West Wing's Jimmy) was filmed extensively in Hamilton.

"If the ratings are up, they will do another series and will be back in town to do it," McNeilly said.