Its one of those immigrant stories that, no matter how many people share it, still leaves you with a sense of wonder. Would I ever be able to be that resourceful? Could I ever be that brave?
In the early 1960s, a young Peter Kerasiotis arrived in Canada. Hed first left Greece when he was 17 but his heartstrings pulled him back home before he got very far. This time, he didnt get off the ship called Olympia until it docked in Halifax.
As he boarded the train to Toronto he had more hopes in his heart than money in his pocket.
I was travelling with this guy who said, Why dont we stay with my brother?, he remembers. We got to Toronto and the brother wasnt there. I had $5 in my pockets. Everyone left and it was me and him and two suitcases.
They made their way to a Greek restaurant, where someone knew of a farm that needed labourers. The fellow put them on a bus and, sure enough, when they got off, they found a job.
There was a second train trip, this time from Toronto to New Westminster. Plans to be met at the train station also went awry so Peter found himself walking from New Westminster to 7th and Vine the centre of Vancouvers Greek community. He was home.
In the years since, Peter and his brothers business, the Adelphia Group, became synonymous with Vancouvers entertainment scene: Celebrities, Shine, Caprice, Venue, the Charles, Pivo Public House, Dover Arms, L.E.D, The Charles, three liquor stores and now, Colony. A few months ago, the company merged with Blueprint Events and is now known as Blueprint.
We started from nothing, Peter says, remembering how he mopped floors on Granville Street for two years, seven days a week from 11 at night until nine in the morning. His advice? You set a goal to get something and you get it. Dont wait for them to come to you. And when you have to learn, you learn.
In 1970, the brothers bought Olympia Pizza at Broadway and Trafalgar, which they moved to Broadway and Trutch about 15 years ago. Its also where hes being interviewed just a few weeks before the restaurant becomes the epicentre of Greek Day, which will turn that five-block stretch of Broadway into a joyous street festival.
As the family photos on the wall of the pizzeria attest, Greek get-togethers are all about the food. Lots of it. Its also about music and dance and having fun.
Today, Vancouvers Greek community is spread throughout the city, but Kitsilano still remains its historic heart, the place where so many young people, like Peter, arrived and found work and sustenance from those who came before.
