Benny’s street party brought out hundreds of people to celebrate 100 years of service to the Strathcona Community. In Vancouver, this kind of legacy is equivalent to celebrating something from the 13th century in Europe or Asia. We don’t have a ton of this type of history, that spans 3 generations and going. What a great contribution the Benedetti family has made to this community and the city of Vancouver through their store on Union and Princess. This family has served the community since 1919, the year my dad was born. He would have been 100 years old Nov. 11th; magic numbers 11,11,19,19 — I thought of him as I bought my lottery ticket at todays memorable anniversary bash.

It was a beautiful day and sad that Raymond Sr. passed away just months before this celebration. The family did him proud today serving up a party of joy and excitement; to say nothing of the 725 sausages, 450 scoops of ice cream… There was a band (one of 3) playing while the fire truck and firemen chatted with the 100’s of people floating through the 11-4 pm celebration. There were horses from the police department, Fryebe sausages, ice cream and cake and long tables and chairs for people to sit and enjoy the day. There were also photos of the family’s many years of commitment and passion to each other and the community on display as well as one of the grandchildren’s french/english project of the store’s history. This celebration pulled out all the stops to shine and make this a day to truly remember!! Bravo Benedetti’s Bravo.