Who is Natale Bozzo? Natale Bozzo Bio/Wiki

Natale Bozzo, founder of the iconic SanRemo Bakery on Royal York Rd., south of Etobicoke, died recently after a six-week COVID-19 virus battle, leaving family, friends, and customers shocked by the tragedy.

He was a patient man who educated countless bakers, including his sons, in Toronto, and enjoyed teaching people at the bakery how to do things by hand.

Natale Bozzo, founder of SanRemo Bakery, has died at the age of 75 after contracting COVID-19.

“He was larger than life and we will miss him dearly,” the family wrote in a statement posted to Facebook. @natalie_kalata has the story.

Read more: https://t.co/zDe2gDTDvq pic.twitter.com/ozejy9NDOH

— CBC Toronto (@CBCToronto) February 20, 2021

Age

He was 75 years old.

Career

At 374 Royal York Rd., Bozzo continued to come to the bakery and assisted in the production of bread and other baked goods.

Natale was also known as Chris, since, in Italian, his name literally means Christmas.

For over 15 years, since she was a teenager, Karolina Visic, the bakery’s social media manager and former manager, has been involved with the family-run company. She said the Star, “Chris was not a strict boss, but he was a perfectionist, always inspiring others with his work ethic,”

She added, “He gave his heart and soul into the bakery. He made sure that all products offered were of the best possible quality, that they tasted and looked good,”

Bozzo was a funny guy, someone who, Visic said, would teach you deep life lessons, but in the form of a metaphor or expression. She said, “I remember when I was 13 years old, I was sweeping in the bakery and was trying to sweep up a penny,”

“My intention was to pick it up, but Chris came by and said in a jovial voice ‘What are you doing? Do you know the worth of a penny? If you sweep a hundred pennies, that would make one dollar. Every penny matters.’ That was my first lesson working there.”

 

Bozzo immigrated to Canada from the area of Calabria in Italy with his family at the age of 15. He got his first job as a baker in the Little Italy neighborhood of Toronto.

Death Cause

Natale Bozzo, the founder of Sanremo’s long-standing Etobicoke bakery, died after contracting COVID-19 at 75.

On Facebook Thursday night, Bozzo’s family revealed that after six weeks of fighting the coronavirus in the hospital, the patriarch had “lost his devastating battle.”

His family said, “He fought very hard, he was in good health prior to this, and we learned of his failing health through very difficult phone calls from the hospital and thankfully we were able to say goodbye,”

RIP- Natale Bozzo of @SanRemoBakeryTO was iconic. These ‘mushroom cookies’ were a staple at EVERY celebration, right up to my own 4 children’s confirmations. Grew up in Mimico & visits to this bakery were a large part of my childhood. Highly recommend you visit @SanRemoBakeryTO. https://t.co/yTZudqV1YA pic.twitter.com/qrRkAZGQd1

— Vicky Leone (@learning24_7) February 20, 2021

Legends. Don’t make them like they used to. We must be thankful for their generational leadership and integrity. Natale Bozzo and Nunzio Tumino. pic.twitter.com/geu2k2HUzm

— Barocco Coffee (@baroccocoffee) August 5, 2018