Windsor business owner Mark Boscariol has passed away.
Boscariol, who owned several restaurants in the downtown core and Walkerville area, died suddenly Thursday morning. He was 51.
Jon Liedtke, a downtown business owner and a close friend of Boscariol's, tells BlackburnNewsWindsor.com that Boscariol passed away overnight of an apparent heart attack.
Reaction to Boscariol's sudden passing has been swift across Windsor business circles. Liedtke calls the loss a big one for Windsor and choked up when he talked about his relationship with him.
"This is the worst day for Windsor," says Liedtke. "This is one of the major arteries from our city... he was more than a mentor. He was a friend, he was family, he was one of the only sources of inspiration in a deep, dark pit where you have three levels of government that are trying to shut you down in the business."
Doug Sartori, board president at Workforce Windsor-Essex, says Boscariol's contributions to the area go beyond restaurants.
"His heart and generosity of spirit, that he worked to support the people around him that he believed in, is something that is going to be so sorely missed," says Sartori.
He owned the Snack Bar BBQ and the Downtown Pizza in downtown Windsor. Boscariol also owned the Good Neighbour Restaurant in Walkerville.
Boscariol was a cheerleader for Windsor business and had recently gone on board with efforts to bring a distillery district to the Walkerville area.
In addition to his business contributions, Boscariol helped out local organizations. Recently, he stepped in to help Bike Windsor-Essex moved to a new home by arranging to move Snack Bar BBQ to Ouellette Ave., and allowing them to take the restaurant's Chatham St. E space. That's something Lori Newton of Bike Windsor-Essex will be forever grateful for.
"He said, 'We're going to make this amazing and awesome, and we're going to be partners and we're going to create a wonderful new vibe on Chatham St.', and he was as excited as we were," says Newton.
More details and reaction will be passed along as they become available.
---with files from Adelle Loiselle
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