North Vancouver Italian restaurant serves up weekly free meals to first responders

Shawn Hatami (middle left), Shirin Hatami (middle right) and the rest of the staff from Roma Italian Restaurant in Central Lonsdale are saying thanks to first responders by offering them free pizza and pasta dishes every Tuesday starting Sept. 8. | Abby Luciano / North Shore News

Managers at an Italian restaurant in North Vancouver are paying it forward by serving up free hot meals to first responders.

Starting Tuesday, Sept. 8, Roma Restaurant in Central Lonsdale will offer free pizza and pasta dishes once a week to local police, firefighters, healthcare workers and search and rescue volunteers as a way of saying thanks for all the work they do.

For siblings Shirin and Shawn Hatami, the appreciation night idea comes with personal connections.

“Within my family and friends, I’m surrounded by many doctors and nurses and get to see firsthand the sacrifices made every day,” Shirin said. “Often, these sacrifices go unnoticed. We have a platform at Roma to show gratitude and appreciation in action.”

Shirin and Shawn are also reminded of first responders at work, often hearing sirens go by their restaurant which is located within a couple of blocks of Lions Gate Hospital, the North Vancouver RCMP detachment and a fire hall.

But when Shirin received care herself at Lions Gate Hospital, she was blown away by the help and attention she received from doctors and nurses. After telling her brother about her experience, Shawn decided to hold appreciation nights for first responders.

“It’s the smallest thing that we can do,” said Shawn. “These people, they really rush and do their best to help us.”

The appreciation nights will run every Tuesday with a max of 25 people per week, Shawn said. First responders wanting a meal can make a reservation or walk in and show ID proving where they work.

For now, the free weekly meals will run until the end of December as a pilot program, at which time staff will decide if they will continue next year.

Shirin said she hopes the appreciation nights help foster personal connections and really show how much weight first responders carry in the community.

“It’s just trying to give back something tangible,” she said. “But also maintaining relationships, showing our human way of dealing with each other rather than just the business way … kindness we receive inspires kindness that we give.”

Shirin and Shawn opened Roma Italian Restaurant three years ago. With a few days to go before the launch, they both hope the first responder appreciation nights will spark inspiration for others to do something similar.

“If we can inspire people to come here and go to the local area and support each other, that would be my whole idea,” Shawn said.

Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.