On January 27th 2024 I went for a walk which eventually led me towards the Stampede Grounds. As I got closer to the Lion's Den Restaurant, I could see a man washing the windows. That man turned out to be Rico Festa, who along with his wife Rose are owners of the restaurant. I hadn't seen Rico since before the flood in 2013, when the restaurant was still up and running. It sustained a fair bit of damage during the flood, and unfortunately closed as a result. Besides being used as offices for PCL Construction, it's also sat dormant for some time.
The Lion's Den Restaurant was a local haunt of mine for many decades. Rico and Rose Festa were always so kind and welcoming to myself and all customers. The food was great, everything was made from scratch, and you could tell they cared about keeping their customers happy. I also remember Rico's Mom and Dad when they ran the place. I hadn't planned on taking any video footage, and my smartphone didn't have much storage space. Rico and I spoke for nearly 2 hours, and I managed to get about 10 minutes of it on video.
I really enjoy talking to Rico Festa. A very friendly, knowledgeable, humble, and down-to-earth guy. Oh yeah, and a savvy conversationalist with a gift for gab! I honestly think he should write a book, and during our lengthy conversation today, I told him just that. He has so many cool stories about Calgary. Coming here when he was 7 years old as an immigrant with his family from Italy, and the early hardships of integrating into this society as an immigrant is but one, deserving of at least a chapter on its own. Then through hard work and determination, became an integral part of this city's business community and economy. Rico, Rose, and their Lion's Den Restaurant played a huge role in Calgary's history. In my humble opinion, they deserve some sort of recognition and an award from the city for this.
I really wish I could have spoken with Rico much longer, or at least got more of our chat on video. Hopefully he will grant me this opportunity once again at some point in the future.
28 окт 2024
