One of Burnaby's most beloved restaurateurs, Antonio (Tony) Mauro of Anton's Pasta Bar, died earlier this month on Aug. 14.
Mauro founded Anton's, an Italian restaurant in the Heights known for its massive portion sizes, in 1989.
Manager Tony Obuck said Mauro was a fiercely dedicated and compassionate business owner and community member.
"I think Tony's spirit is dedication to the restaurant, the quality of the food. People just enjoy working here. We've got a couple staffers that have been here 25, 30 years," Obuck said.
"He was so loyal to (the restaurant); he put in such long hours."
Obuck said Mauro was like a second father to him, after Mauro hired him as one of Anton's first bartenders in 1989.
The two met when when Obuck was just 18 years old, bagging groceries at Safeway.
"(Mauro would) come in and buy bread for the restaurant late at night, and I was like, 'What guy buys all this bread so late at night?'"
"He said, 'I'm opening up a restaurant! It's going to be a great restaurant, and people are going to love the food - it's going to be big, big portions and all that."
"He didn't have any idea how popular it would be," Obuck said.
Mauro was frustrated by the small portion sizes in Canada, according to Obuck, and he wanted to create an alternative to leaving a restaurant hungry.
"He said, 'I'm going to change it so that people are pushing their plate away from them; they're too full; they can't finish it. And I'm going to create something new with my mother's recipe from Southern Italy,'" Obuck recalled.
Obuck described Mauro as "very, very generous."
"If you entered the room, and he's already there, you can't help but smile."
And his nickname? The Godfather.
"He had that feeling of safeness that you could go to him and talk about anything."
One of Mauro's missions was to help the homeless community around him.
An annual Anton's tradition was to shut down the restaurant on Dec. 24 and make meals all day for about 700 to 800 homeless people.
"That was his big thing, was giving back to those that were less fortunate than him," Obuck said.
(In lieu of flowers, Mauro's family has asked for donations to be made to the Vancouver Food Bank in memory of Tony.)
On Mauro's obituary and Facebook pages, hundreds of commenters are expressing their gratitude for Mauro.
"Tony truly was the kindest man you can ever meet. He was loving and all about family. We were a family at Anton's," said one post.
"Condolences to the family and close friends," said another. "We love Anton's Pasta Bar, we've never managed to finish our plate but we love the atmosphere and the food. We will be back soon, the legacy is a great thing for Burnaby."
"It's really emotional," Obuck said.
"We read those comments ... realizing just how many people he came in contact with and interacted with and changed their lives - just like myself and so many others."
"Magical person, phenomenal person. Very spiritual person."
Watch an interview with Tony Mauro conducted by UBC students in 2011 to hear the legend of Anton’s Pasta Bar come to life:
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