John Bitove Sr., Toronto entrepreneur and Order of Canada recipient, dies at 87 (2024)

John Bitove,a successful Canadian businessman and philanthropist of Macedonian origin, passed away peacefully July 30 in Toronto at the age of 87.

Bitove wasa leading entrepreneur in the foodindustry. He operated many successful restaurants, including outlets of casual dining chains Big Boy and Roy Rogers in the 1970s. He soonventured into larger projects when he obtained the catering rights to Toronto’s SkyDome, known today as the Rogers Centre, and Toronto’s Pearson airport.Later, hemerged existing companies to form Bitove Corp., at the time one of the largest dining and catering operations in Canada.

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Outside his business endeavours, Bitove was passionate about his philanthropic work. This included funding theDotsa Bitove Wellness Academy, named in honour of his wife, for peopleliving with memory-related disorders.

“In the last couple of years of his life it was almost his sole dedication to help people with Alzheimer’s,” said their son, John Bitove Jr.

Bitove was also driven by a deep sense of patriotism for Macedonia and its people. In 1991, he organized, raised funds for and led an international campaign to have the country recognized as an independent state. His ties to his heritage made him a generous supporter of the Macedonian community locally and abroad.

‘In the last couple of years of his life it was almost his sole dedication to help people with Alzheimer’s’

Bitove married American-Macedonian Dotsa in 1949, and they spent 67 years together. They hadfive children — Vonna, Nick, Tom, John Jr. andJordan — and 16grandchildren.

Bitove and his wife both had relatives among the 30,000 Macedonian child refugees who were displaced as a result of the Second World War. In 1984, the coupleorganized and paid for areunion that took place in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, enabling them to meet relatives there.

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“He realized that some of his relatives had been persecuted after the war … so he dedicated part of his life, in addition to business and family, to trying to make a difference,” Bitove Jr. said.

Born in Toronto in 1928 to Macedonian parents, Nikola and Vana, Bitove started his career in the food industry at an early age by helpingin his father’s butcher shop. His persistent work ethic would lead him to becoming one of the most successful businessmen of Macedonian origin inthe world.

In 1989, Bitovewas made a member of the Order of Canada. He also received numerous awards, including the first United Macedonian Diaspora Lifetime Achievement Award and the September 8th Medal of Honor, the highest merit from the president of the Republic of Macedonia.

‘Those two Blue Jays World Series were probably some of the happiest moments of his life’

Bitove Jr., also a successful businessman who founded the Toronto Raptor basketball team,remembers his father as a “lover of life” and huge sports fan.

“With the involvement with the SkyDome, those two Blue Jays World Series were probably some of the happiest moments of his life,” he said.

But despite all his financial success, Bitove’s greatest accomplishment was his family, his son added.

“He was most proud of his family and watchinghis children, and in particularhis grandchildren, live a good life, treat people with respect, and be successful — in whatever the meaningof that word is, not just business.”

National Post

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