Early History
A Vancouver landmark: Tosi Italian Food Imports at 624 Main Street. One of Chinatown’s oldest family-run businesses it is virtually unchanged from its 1930 origins.
Tosi & Company Food Importers was started by Piedmonte-born Peter Tosi. The original business, which opend in 1906, was located on 550 Union Street where Peter Tosi had first opened a butcher shop. With his business expanding Mr. Tosi bought the 6000-square-foot Main Street store, which was once thought to have been part of Woodward’s department store. But new information has emerged about the origin of the building. Angelo Tosi the current proprietor, took over the family business in 1973, after his father Peter Tosi who worked until he passed away at 89.
A Rich Part of Vancouver’s Italian History
In 1930 the Mission Style store still standing today was constructed – although perhaps the design was trying for an Italian hill town look. The 1929 permit doesn’t identify an architect (and there possibly wasn’t one; the contractor may have been responsible for the building’s appearance), and the 20th December Journal of Commerce; reported “Contract for the construction of a new store block at 624 Main Street has been placed with Charles Saunders, Limited, 420 Seymour Street, by P. Tosi & Co., wholesale grocers. The building is to be of brick and frame construction with tile front. One story in height, it will measure 50 by 120 feet on a large basement. An oil heating system is to be installed.” The building permit shows the work was going to cost $7,500. Then in January 1930 came a change: “Changed plans for the new store building now under construction for P. Tosi, 550 Union Street, at 624 Main Street by Chas. Saunders, 1400 Bekins building, call for the erection of a building two stories in height. It was originally intended to build a one story structure with store accommodation only. The new plans embrace the provision of an upper floor with suites for rental. 
The additional work will involve an outlay of some $5700 it is estimated.” Tosi & Co also built a larger wholesale building on East Hastings, also in 1929, and there H S Griffith was the architect, so it’s possible he designed this too. The Tosi & Company is 111 years old and was passed down to Angelo Tosi from his father, Peter Tosi. Angelo likes to remind his new customers that a long time ago, Little Italy used to exist in the area and Chinatown only spanned one block on Pender Street. He enjoys reminiscing about the past, telling customers and the curious that the area used to be full of Italian shops and businesses. His mother would sometimes sit in a chair outside the shop and converse with customers.
Family Run Since 1906
Between 1930-1960 the Portuguese and Chinese arrived and bought most of the houses in the area. Many Italians rebuilt better homes and moved over to Commercial Drive. Today he tells us more Italian shops are located around Nanaimo Street at East Hastings. As Chinatown began to grow, he remembers it being extraordinarily beautiful, and recalls such things as people smoking water pipes amongst all of the fresh produce they were selling.
2026
As of Monday February 16, 2026, Tosi Italian Food Imports is permanently closed. To use an overused saying, it’s the end of an era.
Tosi & Company has been selling Italian specialty products to Vancouverites on the edge of Chinatown for over 110 years.
One Last Look
For those that never rang the bell to enter an era long gone… .