One of Toronto's most well-known restaurant owners dies after battle with cancer
Toronto restaurateur Peter Oliver, who started with a sandwich shop in midtown Toronto in the 70s and went on to become a recognizable name around the city’s restaurant scene, has passed away.
Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality, the company which bears his name, announced Oliver’s death in an online post Thursday.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved leader and co-founder of Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality (O&B), Peter Oliver,” the post read.
The company said Oliver was diagnosed with late-stage cancer over a year ago in May 2021, “a challenge he faced head-on with strength and grace.”
“Throughout his treatment, he maintained a positive spirit for which he will be forever remembered. He died peacefully and with a grateful heart on Wednesday, September 21 with his children and wife Maureen by his side.”
Oliver was born in Cape Town, South Africa and moved to Montreal in 1967 to attend McGill University.
He had a successful career as a stockbroker and in commercial real estate, but decided to make a career change in 1978.
That was when he opened his first restaurant in midtown Toronto, a small sandwich shop called Oliver’s Old Fashioned Bakery, located at Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue.
He began a partnership with Chef Michael Bonacini in 1993 with the opening of Jump Restaurant in the Financial District. The partnership became Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality.
Today the company has restaurants all over Canada — including the Oliver & Bonacini Grill locations — and some of Toronto’s best-known venues, as well as a catering business.
Restaurants in the company’s portfolio include Canoe, Canteen, Babel, Luma and R&D.
“Peter always recognized and appreciated his collaboration with Michael as being fateful. They were a team that worked well together, each bringing synergistic contributions to the company,” Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality said in its post.
In addition to the hospitality business, Oliver also founded The Leacock Foundation in 1992 after meeting Nelson Mandela in Toronto. The foundation raises money to help disadvantaged kids in Toronto and South Africa.
Oliver is survived by his wife, Maureen, four children and nine grandchildren.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.