24 - Sunday, January 28, 1990 - North Shore News usiness news today is that, after 19 years, West Van's John Mackenzie, the owner and cperator of one of the North Shore's prettiest res- taurants, is finally getting out of the business and leaving the day- to-day grind of the food industry! Not that he hasn‘t enjoyed it, he has! He actually started his career as a high school teacher, before join- Joy Metcalfe telis ail ... ing Keg King. George Tidball, in his steak-house empire. That was in 1971 and John worked in every facet of the operation before being made vice-president, Corporate Development. That's when he decided to buy the Horseshoe Bay restaurant which was a franchise situation. It was October of 1985 when he took over and he’s never looked back. It was a gutsy decision but a wise one! Over the past five years, he’s remodelled and revised, especially after he turned it into one of the popular Boathouse Restaurants. When the famous English com- pany, Whitbreads of London, bought the Keg company a couple of years ago, they were most anx- ious for John to sell the operation back to them, but he declined. The news today is that John has now accepted what he terms their “tremendous offer,” an offer that he simply couldn't refuse, and has sold the Boathouse at Horseshoe Bay. Now he’s going to put his feet up, enjoy being at home with his wife and their tour active kids, and learn all over again, how to stop and smell the roses! We wish him welll... aae Speaking of hard workers, veteran) media communications executive and West Van resident, J. Ray Peters, was just beginning to unwind, both mentally and physically, after retiring late last fall from his position as president and chief executive officer with Western international Com- munications. He and his wife, Heidi, had been enjoying some Hawaiian sunshine last week when an urgent message arrived telling him that his son, Rick, had been taken seriously il}. It seems that Rick, who is the Chief Barker of Variety Club’s Tent 47, had travelled to New York late last week to be a guest at the very John MacKenzie ... hangs up his hat. prestigious ‘‘Life Line Dinner,” a Variety Club event that raises funds specifically for handicapped children from the Third World. It was being held in the fabled food king Photo submitted Wayne McKay of VanCity Savings (left) partied with Grey’s Advertising partners Chris Bergthorson, Don Hermason and John Donaldson. Waldori-Astoria, and Rick had just checked in when he complained of not feeling well. He then suf- fered a seizure, collapsed and was immediately rushed to hospital. He's now in intensive care in Bellevue Hospital in New York and his dad is expected to fly down to be with him. We certainly wish Rick a very speedy recov- ery... Another West Vanner who decided to take a hard look at where he’s going is Chris Bergthorson, a leading figure in Vancouver's advertising world, the founder of Embryo Communica- tions and one of the three partners in Grey’s Advertising. Quite recently he made the decision to pet out of the ad business and get away for awhile, very far away! He and his wife, Patty. bought an old church and have had it remodelled into a very comfortable home. The church happens to be located in Wales! Chris's partners in Grey's Ad, You should shop the Sample Room because: (1 The samples are the newest fashions at the wildest prices. John Donaldson and Don Her- mason threw a giant farewell din- ner dance party last week with about 140 guests attending, in- eet ann Variety Club president Rick Peters . taken ill in New York. cluding Chris’s top client, the senior vice-president of Vancouver City Savings, WV’s Wayne McKay. Wayne is the longest serving employee of VCS — 25 years, and he’s the No. 2 man in the com- pany. There was a very funny yet touching ‘This Is Your Life, Chris Bergthorson!’’ video created especially for the occasion, and then they presented him with a Pentax format camera. Chris was thrilled! And he certainly packed it away carefully when he and Patti left their West Van home for their exciting new adventure in Wales jast Thursday morning... The surprise party was held at Sami’s on Cornwall, the delightful restaurant that’s owned by W.V. waterfront resident, Sam Yehia... eee And there was another super surprise party at the Black Forest Restaurant on Wednesday night. This was to celebrate Pitney Bowes’ National Account Execu- tive, Earl Mitchell’s big 50th bir- thday! It was organized and emceed by Stephanie and Ray Greenwood while the invitations were dong by that master of creativity, Rayrsond Chow. Special guests like Captain Vancouver, alias Harvey Rourke, and West Van's leading lawyer, Rocke Robertson and his wife, Wendy, added to the festivities. Though the Minister of the En- vironment, John Reynolds, couldn't be there, he did send his good friend a very funny telegram. John celebrated his 48th birthday last Friday night!... eae The Chinese New Year's ‘Year of the Horse” was well launched with a very gala dinner party Thursday evening at Lyall Markham’s elegant Dynasty res- SUPER SUNDAY [}We make you look good [JThe girls are pretty [The food is great Clit’s Fun!! Give yourself some bench strength. This SUPERBOWL add wine to your bar. Scamper down for your Tel: 685-8485 crowd pleaser. 1000 MAINLAND yp OME OSE STREET | a Taras | Hate | MN saMipnn anos PANES 1 t **4 unique fashion experierce.’”’ EEN Park & Tilford Centre 988-2424 Pork Royal South (By Peter Blacks) 925-3663 Lonsdale Quay Market 984-2583 "SAMPLE ROOM PRICES ARE: ALW: