Oral history interview with Jeffrey Barnett. Jeffrey arrived in Vancouver in 1957 at age seventeen, with seventy dollars to his name. He has led a life of hard work in the restaurant industry, with businesses such as Pizza Patio and Elephant and Castle, as well as ensuring the success of the British Pavilion at Expo '86. In more recent years he has helped to make the annual Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCCGV) Sports Dinner a success, sat on the JCCGV Board of Governors, and, with his wife Hildy, funded the JCCGV Teen Lounge.
Peter and Jeffrey Barnett are twin brothers who went into a number of business ventures including restaurants, clubs and property investments. They are best known for being the founders and owners of: Pizza Patio, Elephant and Castle, Ole Cantina, the first topless club in Canada, the first discothèque in Richmond, etc.
They are also very involved in community (both Jewish and non-Jewish) organizations. They were both heavily involved in the Variety Club telethon for years; Peter Barnett was the founder of Variety Club #1047 and past Variety Club World President (and the youngest world president of Variety Club). Jeffrey is very involved with the BC Restaurant Association and the JCC's (Jewish Community Centre) annual Sports Dinner.
They are both 2007 BC Restaurant Hall of Fame Inductees in the Pioneer Category (Pioneers of the BC restaurant industry either retired or deceased).