TORONTO – The Sicilian Sidewalk Café in Little Italy reopened on Friday after playing host to the fatal shooting of John Raposo on Monday. The café is now working along with the community to remind Torontonians about the safe, family-oriented nature of the neighbourhood.
Little Italy was shaken on June 18 when a gunman, suspected to be 26-year-old Dean Wiwchar, allegedly walked into the café and killed 35-year-old Raposo.
A memorial for the victim now stands outside the Sicilian Café.
The café reopened on Friday morning, just hours before Wiwchar plead not guilty to charges of first-degree murder.
“It’s important for us to get back to business. We can’t let this violence win. Our community is better than that,” said Maria Galipo the owner of The Sicilian Sidewalk Café.
Galipo told Global News that reopening quickly after the shooting will help rebuild the reputation of Little Italy and let Torontonians know that the storied neighbourhood is still safe.
“We have a very good community. It’s a great neighbourhood and a family oriented neighbourhood, it’s a safe neighbourhood and we’d like to let people know that,” said Galipo.
The temporary stain on the café did not stop customers from enjoying the menu on Friday morning, as families gathered to eat breakfast and enjoy the patio on which just days before, a man was killed.
“Sometimes things happen and it’s nothing to be with the business, nothing to be with Little Italy, it’s just something that happens,” said Carlos Grisales, a customer at the Sicilian Café on Friday.
The Sicilian Sidewalk Café first opened in 1959 on the corner of College Avenue and Montrose Avenue, and has been owned and operated by the Galipo family for over 50 years.
The return of customers may speak to an overwhelming relief that community felt upon hearing the news that a suspect had been arrested in the daylight murder.
“The whole community is very happy that the police were able to make an arrest. We congratulate them for such swift work. Certainly a sense of calm and relief now is kind of permeating through the neighbourhood,” said Lenny Lombardi, a representative of the Little Italy BIA.
Though Little Italy is family oriented, and generally one of Toronto’s safer neighbourhoods, Lombardi says that gun violence can hit home anywhere in Toronto and should not permanently scar the reputation of either the neighbourhood or the family-run café.
“What we are is a welcoming community and what we want to do is go back and embrace that notion of our community and our neighbours and get back to normal in that respect,” said Lombardi.
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