Doors close on decades of delicious Italian food

In an era of cookie cutter chain restaurants, Felicia’s stood out.

Part of it was the decor, a wonderful mix of thrift store Van Goghs and Picassos, maps of Italy, and photos of movie stars such as Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean.

There was an Elvis clock, a Lady Diana doll, a pepper mill that looked like a baseball bat, checkered tablecloths, bamboo shade ceilings and faux brick walls.

But the big attraction for generations of customers was the old-school Italian comfort food: chicken cacciatore simmered in wine with mushrooms, onions, green peppers and olives, fettuccine with sliced chicken in a white sauce, and the best damn baked lasagna in east Vancouver.

“Delicious,” it boasted on the menu, and it was.

“A co-worker here swears the best lasagna he’s ever had was from Felicia’s,” said Patricia Barnes, executive director of the Hastings North Business Improvement Association.

“She used to put the cheese inside the dough and give you cheese balls — I’ve had them for the board. It’s classic homemade cooking. (The owners) Felicia and Lucy were fantastic characters, always fun to talk with.”

The restaurant at 2492 East Hastings has been a Hastings-Sunrise icon since 1980. But it quietly closed during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Andy Yan said it will be missed. The director of Simon Fraser University’s City Program has lived in the neighbourhood all his life, and Felicia’s was a touchstone.

“It’s a beloved east Van institution, from the time (when the neighbourhood was filled with) working class Italian-Canadians,” said Yan.

“It had character, history and patina, it was layered over 40 years. You barely have any restaurants today that survive four years.”

Yan is a food lover, and at Felicia’s he loved his anchovy and mushroom panzerotti, which is like a pizza folded into a sandwich.

FILES Elvira Scigliano, left, her grandmother Lucia Colonna and mother Felicia Scigliano were always there to prepare and serve the renowned Italian cuisine at Felicia’s Restaurant. The popular eatery on East Hastings that opened in 1980 has quietly closed during the novel coronavirus pandemic.