Burnaby’s first and favourite information source
Delivery 604-942-3081 • Friday, December 30, 2011
Postcards from around the globe PAGE 13
A guiding hand for students PAGE 3
Your source for local sports, news, weather and entertainment! >> www.burnabynow.com
Spreading cheer and kindness
Popular Burnaby eatery opens its doors during the holiday season to lend a helping hand
Christmas was a lot brighter for hundreds of Lower Mainland folks, thanks to a popular pasta restaurant in Burnaby’s Heights neighbourhood. For the past two decades, Anton’s Pasta Bar had been closed for Christmas Eve in order to open its door to the region’s most destitute. Frank Leone, Anton’s general manager, has been involved in the dinner since he started with the restaurant 16 years ago. “It just started when one of the servers suggested we do this for the needy, and the owner, Tony Mauro, he “It’s just to see agreed it would people happy. … be a good thing do to give We want them to to something back be treated with to the communisaid. some respect and ty,”ALeone n t o n ’ s dignity, whoever invites all of the clients from they are. Burnaby Family Life, a non-profit FRANK LEONE general manager group that helps local families. The restaurant also spreads the word through various groups that help people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Guests have included young families, single moms, women escaping violence, and new immigrants. With roughly 500 dinner guests, this year’s event was probably the biggest yet, Leone said. Preparation for Christmas Eve often takes place three to four weeks in advance, and the dinner gets underway two or three days before Dec. 24, Leone said. Staff and volunteers pull together to make sure everything runs smoothly. The doors open at 10:30 a.m., and people are often already lining up outside the restaurant. If that’s the case, Leone said they are invited in for a coffee. Dinner is a set menu, with pasta, two pieces of chicken, dessert and coffee, tea or other beverages. In the morning, the staff and some vol-
Jason Lang/burnaby now
Christmas kindness: Eliana Calogiros hands out a present to Nizam Ramji at the annual Christmas dinner at Anton’s Pasta Bar. The Burnaby restaurant has been opening its doors on Christmas Eve to feed people in need for two decades. unteers hand out socks and warm hats to the dinner guests. They also put out boxes of clothes in the restaurant for anyone who needs them. Young families start showing up in the afternoon. There’s also a special treat for the children: a visit from Santa complete with gifts. Families who sign up for the dinner in advance can indicate how many children they have, how old they are and their gender. That information helps Anton’s collect age and gender appropriate toys ahead
of time for the kids. Customers and staff donate the gifts. “Little kids love it because Santa Claus goes up to them. It’s very emotional thing,” Leone said. For the past 20 years, Anton’s has been organizing the Christmas Eve dinner with little fanfare. “For us, it makes us feel good. It makes us realize how fortunate we are compared to some people, and we want to give something back to the community for supporting us,” Leone said. “It’s just to see people happy. … We want them to
be treated with some respect and dignity, whoever they are.” Jeanne Fike, executive director at Burnaby Family Life, said the organization’s clients love it. “It is their Christmas – to go to Anton’s, a restaurant they wouldn’t be able to afford, get wined and dined and get presents for their children,” she said. “The children and the parents are just absolutely moved and thrilled, and it really makes their Christmas.” Dinner Page 8
YOUR BURNABY REALTOR
TV’s, Computers , Electronics & Small Appliances 604-299-3121
2961 Norland Avenue, Burnaby
Dinner for 3
$25
Whole chicken with one large sideline and your choice of 2 garlic bread slices or 2 buns
BRIAN VIDAS 604.671.5259
Brian Vidas Personal Real Estate Corporation 3010 Boundary Road, Burnaby
BrianVidas.com
www.
centre realty