Dino’s Wood Burning Pizza: The Daily Work Of Building A Better Community
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Dino's Wood Burning Pizza has steadily given back to the community for over a decade, with owner Zeynel “Dino” Ari regularly donating free food to shelters, hospitals, and newcomers. | Photo By Lismery Loyola -
Dino Ari has shared the warmth of his humanity since opening his pizza joint in 2007. | Photo By Lismery Loyola -
Photo By Lismery Loyola -
Dino is well-known for handing out dozens of slices to people outside a homeless shelter near Sherbourne and Queen Streets, especially during the cold winter season. | Photo Courtesy of Dino's Wood Burning Pizza -
Dino is well-known for handing out dozens of slices to people outside a homeless shelter near Sherbourne and Queen Streets, especially during the cold winter season. | Photo Courtesy of Dino's Wood Burning Pizza -
Dino is well-known for handing out dozens of slices to people outside a homeless shelter near Sherbourne and Queen Streets, especially during the cold winter season. | Photo Courtesy of Dino's Wood Burning Pizza -
Dino is well-known for handing out dozens of slices to people outside a homeless shelter near Sherbourne and Queen Streets, especially during the cold winter season. | Photo Courtesy of Dino's Wood Burning Pizza
Etobicoke’s Dino’s Wood Burning Pizza has been providing the finest traditional Italian pizza and giving back to the community for 15 years.
It used to be that to feel at the centre of any community, you would go to the city hall, the main community centre or perhaps a centrally located park. But times have changed, and if you want to feel like you’re at the centre of Etobicoke, Dino’s Wood Burning Pizza at either The Queensway in south Etobicoke or at 871 Kipling Avenue would be the perfect place to be.
And that’s not just for the food, made fresh daily by owner Dino Ari. It’s the palpable spirit of community and giving back that emanates from the warm and welcoming personality of this good-natured and kind-hearted man. You cannot help but feel enthusiastic, excited and engaged by what is possible in community-building when spending time with Ari, who makes it his mission by working every day to make his community a better place.
Even before the pandemic, seeing the growing problem of homelessness downtown, Ari and his staff had made pizzas and distributed them every Saturday to homeless shelters. He had also noticed how stressed Toronto’s international students who were living far away from family and in a strange city were, and had invited them to his shop for free food.
During the pandemic, Dino’s Wood Burning Pizza would prepare pies for frontline workers, giving slices to doctors and nurses at hospitals. For this, Ari was honoured as a “Hero of Etobicoke-Lakeshore” by the local Member of Parliament. He has also been recognized by the local MPP for his contributions to the community and by the Province of Ontario for exceptional service to Etobicoke and has been awarded a Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee pin by the Canadian government.
But Ari does not give back for honour or recognition; he does it because he cares. He has had this philosophy since he immigrated from Turkey in 2000 and first opened Dino’s Wood Burning Pizza in 2007.
“It makes me happy, and I feel good because I know people are going through difficult times,” says Ari in a recent interview with City Life. “Kindness is good, so you know, if you are kind, you can put a smile on people’s faces, the people who are really in need. When we came to Canada, we brought our culture with us and our heart with us because our parents taught us how to help others. This is in our heart: to give help, and we’re not expecting to get back anything in return. If you are in need we. see you, and that’s how we feel, to give whatever we have. Big cities are always difficult to live in, whether it’s Italy or Turkey or Canada, but people can still be kind. I think it has to do with the family, the culture, the heart and how people were brought up.”
The care, commitment and passion for his community that Ari demonstrates daily is what he also brings to his craft — making some of the best pizza pies in the GTA. He starts the fire in the oven that was handmade by a craftsman in Napoli, Italy, early in the morning. His renowned thin-crust wood-fired pies emerge from this oven. Every day. His homemade sauces and dough are also made fresh daily, part of a menu that also features excellent wings and Turkish flatbreads.
Ari demonstrates his skill at both cooking and kindness every day, as he gives away free pizza to people who may not have any money. “We must be kind to people and invest in our people and our community,” he says. “To put a smile upon the face of people — that is the biggest reward for us.”
While there has always been comfort in homemade Italian food, it is the character of those who create that food — who give to others, provide care for families and show concern for their communities, and the spirit that infuses their surroundings — that can make a business feel truly special. Dino Ari embodies all these qualities and is making a difference in every way he can. By paying it forward, he is providing a lesson for us all. He is a citizen of the people and for the people and one who Etobicoke should be very proud to call its own.
INTERVIEW BY MICHELLE ZERILLO-SOSA
