Andreas Arsoniadis

ARSONIADIS, Andreas

March 10, 1934 – April 10, 2026

With broken hearts, we announce the passing of Andreas Arsoniadis, adored father and grandfather, successful businessman and pillar of North Vancouver’s business community. Preceded in death by his beloved wife Adamantia and his brothers, Charalambous and Tasos and his sister Kyriaki. He is survived by his sisters Marikoula and Parthena, cousins, numerous nieces and nephews, and his children, George, Dimitrios and Kaity, his grandchildren Mati, Anna, Mia, Amalia, Andreas and Adriana and a great grandchild.

Always a larger-than-life man, Andreas left his family’s farm in Krinides, outside of Kavala in northern Greece, to study commerce. Capitalizing on his gift with numbers and years of bookkeeping on the family farm, he earned a Commerce degree in Math and Economics in 1958. After completing his military service, as captain of a Tank Division, he left Greece for England to look into a career in shipping and finance, but circumstances led him to board a merchant ship as a deckhand working for Siros Shipping Company of the Goulandris Brothers.

Once his mathematical skills were discovered onboard, Andreas was quickly moved up to the bridge, and given responsibility for handling complex calculations like celestial navigation. On a prophetic day in 1960, however, when his ship entered port in Port Moody, off British Columbia’s west coast, Andreas made a move that would change the course of his life. Curious about the possibilities of life in America, he jumped ship with nothing but $43, a small gym bag and some gold coins his grandmother gave him which he had hidden in the heels of his shoes. He didn’t even have proof of his legal name, as his passport was being held by the ship’s captain, leading him to adopt the alias of John Hallis.

From his first days in British Columbia, Andreas used his unique combination of single-minded determination, his education and decades of unflinching hard work to build a life of success and prosperity. Surviving his first months in Canada on dish-washing jobs in downtown Vancouver restaurants, he later found work in construction. By 1965, he had earned enough to buy his first residential property in the District of North Vancouver. He continued channelling his earnings into more property purchases over the next years, laying the groundwork for what became an impressive portfolio of residential and commercial holdings.

In 1967, he met and married the captivating and unforgettable Adamantia, known to everyone as Matina, who was visiting from Greece. She was truly the love of his life. They started a family and Andreas doubled down on his business ventures to support Adamantia and a family that grew to three children. Having finally secured legal status under his own name in 1969, he started supplementing his full-time employment by trimming trees for the local School Board on weekends. Moving from work in the construction sector to a job supervising plant maintenance at Meteor Meats, a job that laid the foundations for the final chapter of his business life.

This chapter began in 1984 with the purchase of Little Billy’s restaurant on West 16th Street in North Vancouver, renaming it and re-branding it Andreas Restaurant. Together with Matina, they worked tirelessly to learn the restaurant business, with Andreas applying his usual financial acumen to the books and Matina hosting the customers and managing the staff. Slowly the restaurant took hold and became a place where they proudly held court and extended the legendary Greek hospitality and cuisine to family, friends and long-time customers. A business that celebrated its 41st anniversary, along with Andreas’ 92nd birthday.

Beyond his business success, Andreas understood that the true heart of success is a person’s capacity to love, care and provide for his family. Yet like the heroes in his favourite Greek legend, Damon and Pythias, Andreas’s loyalty extended to his wide circle of friends. He was also deeply committed to his Greek heritage, playing a role in establishing the Greek school in North Vancouver. He was proud of this initiative, as this would instill many children with the history of their heritage and fluency in the Greek language.

Andreas and his remarkable journey will be remembered and celebrated at a memorial service at 7:30pm on Wednesday April 15th to be held at St. George’s Cathedral, 4500 Arbutus Street in Vancouver, with a champagne and cognac reception to follow in the Large Hall. As an expression of sympathy, and in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hellenic Community of Vancouver. www.helleniccommunity.org