MIR. OSPITAL f Mario Corsi is any example, the mark of a successful hotelier is the ability to make every day a party. As one of the three joint owners of the Park Royal Hotel, Cafe Roma and Corsi Trattoria — his partners are Ori Holubitsky and his brother Antonio Corsi — Corsi works 14 to 16 hours a day, six or seven days a week, making sure his guests are having as good a time as he is. On the afternoon Corsi spoke with the North Shore News, in fact, he contessed to be- ing a trifle bleary eyed from a par- ticular!, festive Christmas party held in the hotel’s pub the night before. ‘‘Wine tastes so good,” he sighed somewhat ruefully. But if his energy level was in- deed at an ebb that day, it would be hard to match him when he’s at his peak. His eyes glowing and arms gesturing wildly to punctuate his statements, Corsi’s entnusiasm for his work clearly shone through. This energy, combined with his penchant for “‘sticking his nose. in” to all aspects of his business, have earned him the nickname “Mr. Fawlty’ from his staff — and “Mr. Hospitality,"’ no doubt, from many of his loyal North Shore customers. Corsi’s optimism and joie de vivre are probably fuelled by his solid grounding in values that sometimes get waylaid during a 36 - Sunday, December 24, 1989 - North Shore News pesson’s climb up the ladder of success. An unmaterialistic person who refuses to buy a new house or car just because he can afford to, Corsi’s priorities Sie much closer to his heart — with his fami- ly. His dedication ranges from his artistic son Giovanni — “he thinks manuai labor is the presi- dent of Mexico,’’ he jibes affec- tionately — to his father who lives with them four or five months a year and his five siblings with whom he remains in close contact. His wife Angelica’s mother also lives in the Corsis’ North Van- couver home, and Corsi is a firm believer in the importance of car- ing for the elderly at home — a situation which benefits both the young and the old, he says. “The older you get, the more you ap- preciate your parents,’’ notes Cor- si. He is also a follower of the movement to preserve the en- vironment, and recycles all the glass and tin that is used in the hotel. He says of his Italian father, “He can’t believe how many trees we have,” and it was in part Vancouver's natural beauty that encouraged Mario to lay down his own roots here. Born in Rome, Corsi was only 14 when he first stepped into the hospitality industry. He travelled between seasonal resorts, learning it’s the fum, not the money, that motivates Mcrio Corsi ITY the ropes and picking up a knowl- edge of English, French and Ger- man. It was in Germany that Corsi, then 19, met Willie and Marta Brueckel, who then owned the Park Royal Hotel. “If you ever come to Canada,” they said, “come and see us’ — so he did, a year later, and started working for them in the hotel. Although only a visit to Van- couver was planned, it didn’t take him long to decide to make it a permanent move. Soon his ‘‘en- trepreneurial spirit’ led him to open his own restaurant, [| Cor- saro, on Commercial Drive, but he was asked back to the hotel as a partner in 1973 when _ the Brueckels sold out to Ori Holubit- sky. In the past decade, the trio of restaurateurs have masterminded the tiourishing Cafe Roma (it replaced their Charley Potatoes restaurant which they closed when similar casual dining establish- ments opened on the North Shore} and Corsi Trattoria at the bottom of Lonsdale Avenue. ‘We like to cater to North Shore people,” Corsi says. ‘‘We think we have a very sophisticated audience.” Corsi nightly makes the rounds of the three restaurants to ensure that everything is) running smoothly and with the appropriate measure of jollity. “You can’t do 2 INFLUENCE service by remote control,” he says of this practice. ‘No one cares about your business more than yourself.” At 44, Corsi says he is not yet at the peak of his career, and has long-range plans that include opening a Cafe Roma in Edmonton and adding more rooms to the Park Royal Hotel. And even when he is of an age when most think about retiring, Corsi still plans to 2427 Marine Drive, Boxing Day Brunch s New Year's Eve e SSS 4 SS ~N est ss wt See i a ar zea ‘ocean! } Loan : wt Kd " : ro t a zi ay Pianist Saturday Brunch Dine by harp music Wed. nights Book now for the Holiday Season ~ Catering Hot and Cold Hors d'oeuvres West Van. photo Mike Wakelicld Mario Corsi, co-owner of the Park Royal Hotel, has fun doing what others might think is a lot of hard work. His 14-heur days are reward- ed with trips to his favorite Chinese restaurasits and the occasional trip to Maui. be an integral presence at the Park Royal Hotel, entertaining his guests from a perch beside the fireplace, where he would like to “die with a bottle of wine in (his) hand.” “You get to know your cus- tomers and they become your friends,” he reflects. “You can’t be successful unless you have un.” - Peggy Trendell-Whittaker ener Z TRE : TTT RRS tf ‘ ENS RS Sy Harpist Sunday Brunch seating fron’ 10 to 100 926-8838