The Belcastro Family

2025 Markham Honourees

Giuseppe (“Joe”) Belcastro was an intelligent and innovative man who loved his family very much.  In 1962 he began operating a single food truck, he called “Joseph B. Snack Services” so that he could not only be his own boss but also prioritize his time, worth and family.  Speaking little English, but ready to work twice as hard as anyone else, he built himself a route and a reputation for ‘quality, respect and accountability’.

 With six little Belcastro mouths to feed at home, the days and roads were longer than most men would work, but Giuseppe’s determination and drive did not go unnoticed.  Louie, the eldest of the six children, had an incredibly special and deep connection with his father.  He was only fifteen years old when he lost his father.  In fact, while on a family trip home, visiting in Italy, Giuseppe fell terribly ill and ended up in the hospital.  Louie had a vivid dream that his father died, and the moment he woke he ran straight to the hospital to tell his father about it.  Giuseppe died the next day from complications resulting from his burst appendix, forever changing the trajectory of the entire family.

Louie returned from that voyage no longer a boy.  Being the eldest, and now the man of the house, he’d learned by his fathers’ example over the years that struggle, survival and success are all very closely intertwined, and you can’t often have one without another.  He also knew that he could start from scratch, with only one truck, much like his father, and then build on top of that with the love and support of his own family, who have been integral in the growth and expansion of what was once ‘Joseph B. Snack Services’ to the now, “Classic Group of Companies”, which includes five separate, successful and unique brands: Classic Touch Foods, Passion Fresh Foods, Classique Catering, Riviera Catering, and Classic Cuisine.

With three generations of Belcastro’s now leading the charge, what would Giuseppe have to say about a single food truck turned into an empire that serves millions of people across Canada, serving up quality and integrity, in addition to the original ‘respect and accountability’ he started offering more than six decades ago. 

What would he think of the 75,000 square foot climate-controlled production facility that was built to accommodate his growing honour, as more family got involved in the business?  What would he say of the family’s Portraits of Giving capture, taken in the very lounge named after his own family, at York University’s Markham campus?

Alessandra, Louie’s only child and daughter smiled as she spoke about her father and her grandfather, “None of this happened overnight”.   Nonno’s business was singular, but sufficient and kept him geographically close to his home and family daily, at a time when many men had to look for work out of town to make enough.  My dad had his example to build from, and it wasn’t long before all of the dots started to connect.  “Both Nonno and my father had to sacrifice their childhood for the sake of the family, and so in giving us a good childhood, and everyone else a good (and nourishing) childhood has always been important to us – this is why we are so heavily involved, especially locally in Markham with so many school, child and food-related programs, from JK to University, and even hospice!”

Even though Giuseppe departed earlier than anyone expected, his drive and dream of a family-focused business is what flourishes today and lives on through his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren who respect and appreciate the fundamental understanding and fact that all stages of life need nurturing, sustenance and care.