Leo (July 23 — Aug. 22)
A crucial issue is clamouring for your attention. Listening to the advice being offered by those around you could prove detrimental. It would be better to trust what your instincts are highlighting as the most appropriate thing to do.
Gemini (May 21 — June 21)
Pluto is sending you confusing signals. So, if something is making you feel unhappy, don't let it disturb your tranquillity. Usually, our most pressing anxieties prove totally unfounded. It is unlikely that there is a real problem at this time.
Cancer (June 22 — July 22)
As your preparations gather pace, it is only natural to contemplate what you will do when you achieve the favourable outcome you've been so ardently seeking. The tide is turning in your favour. Just don't rush it, for the time being.
Scorpio (Oct. 24 — Nov. 22)
With Mars continuing to embolden your cause, you have the necessary power to deal with something that is urgent and pressing. Do not let a rising tide of tension dampen your optimism. Turn the stress into direct, positive action.
Pisces (Feb. 20 — March 20)
We have different ways of doing things. But if you look at the areas of disagreement and all the points in common with someone, you will see an essential harmony. Don't dwell on the differences.
http://www.thestar.com/horoscopes/article/692611
Staff Reporter
George Bigliardi has pull.
The 73-year-old restaurateur, owner of George Bigliardi's steak house on Church St., is so connected he once altered the Pope's parade route through Toronto – just for a photo-op. Then there was the time he persuaded Barney the Dinosaur to drop by the restaurant and meet his daughter, who ran away in terror.
He has the pictures to prove it, and hundreds of stories to go along with them. But on Sept. 26, Bigliardi is closing the book on his life's work, selling his restaurant and finally taking a break.
"I need a little rest," he says.
It's long overdue. Since arriving in Toronto from Parma, Italy, 50 years ago, Bigliardi has worked 14 hours a day, six days a week (if not seven). His knees are a wreck.
"After my next operation in December, I'll be ready to go," he said.
He isn't kidding.
Bigliardi's upper body seems to drag his legs around the room as he answers phones and mixes drinks. He talks at the speed of an auctioneer, pointing out pictures of famous patrons including Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rooney, Bette Midler, Wayne Gretzky, Gordon Lightfoot and "the guy from MASH."
It's the people he'll miss most, he says. "I didn't realize it would be so hard. If I knew it would have been this bad I would have closed overnight and put up a sign: `Gone Fishing.' But I want to say goodbye to the clientele because they've been so good to me over the years."
Public introspection isn't exactly Bigliardi's thing, but he agrees his arrival in Toronto is at least in part responsible for his love of company. He came alone, stepping off the boat a skinny 23-year-old, without so much as a word of English to get him going. "It wasn't easy. Loneliness is the worst thing," he said.
He had to rely on his now legendary work ethic, a trait he began developing at 11 when he quit school and started working to help support his family. It paid off. Within 48 hours of arriving in Toronto, Bigliardi landed a job as a bus boy at the long-defunct Club One-Two.
"Now I get to meet people every day."
The appeal isn't lost on Bigliardi's maître d'Angelos Dimitropoulos, an employee for 22 years.
"I feel privileged to have worked in the best restaurant in town for more than two decades. I want you to underline that," the 53-year-old eulogized last night. "The clientele was amazing: actors, athletes, politicians. You don't find that in most restaurants, and it takes years to build that up. It doesn't just come like that."
Next up, said Dimitropoulos, is a trip to Greece. "I haven't seen my mother in years."
As for Bigliardi, he plans to split his time between family and his "other dream," horse racing.
"I nearly won the Queen's Plate once, but my horse turned sour," said Bigliardi, a mainstay, often in a tuxedo, at Woodbine Racetrack since the mid-'80s. "I'm still breeding. I have two horses in training and another three babies."
Long-time patrons, meanwhile, have yet to devise a Plan B.
"When I got George's note in the mail (that he was closing), it almost brought tears to my eyes. I love George, and I don't know where I'm going to go now to feel at home the way I did there," said Jim Waters, former co-owner of the CHUM empire and a loyal customer since the restaurant opened in 1977. "He actually cooked a meal and took it to the hospital when my wife had our first child. I'll never forget that, and I know he did that for other people, too. He's part of the family."
Bigliardi's was bought recently by the owners of Pizzaiolo, a gourmet pizza chain with 10 locations throughout Toronto. Bigliardi said they're still deciding on the restaurant's future, but he is satisfied he's found the right owners.
There is also the possibility he will open another restaurant in the future, something "more intimate."
Until then, he'll always have his stories.
"Pope John Paul II visited in 1984, and I knew (Gerald Emmett) Cardinal Carter very well; he used to come in for dinner," said Bigliardi. "I wanted a picture of the Pope and my restaurant, but his parade was supposed to go up Jarvis. I called Cardinal Carter and he said, `Let me handle it.' He changed it to Church St. I got the picture and sent it to my mother.
"My mother died happy."
No comments:
Post a Comment