Allan Christian, the owner of Aphrodite's Organic Café and Pie Shop, located on the corner of 4th Avenue and Alma Street in Kitsilano, passed away April 29, 2008.
The legacy of Aphrodite's will live on in the hearts and minds of all who knew Allan as well as of everyone who has yet to discover this special and rare space that serves up local organic food in an unpretentious atmosphere.
"Just like a country kitchen," Allan used to say.
He insisted on keeping the restaurant rustic and simple, and for a long time his dishes, which were purchased at thrift stores, were oddly mismatched.
Allan had a knack for business say those who knew him well. They should know—they saw him open quite a number of them. And every one flourished.
As a young man, Allan made lots of money selling group insurance. He married and supported a family of two lovely children, Derrick and Peggy, and had three grandchildren, twin girls, Katie and Melissa, and a boy, Jonathan.
At one point Allan enjoyed "the high life"—a sailboat, an office in Kitsilano overlooking the ocean, music, all night dancing, good food and entertaining friends.
Those who knew him as a child describe Allan as a person seeking greater understanding of life's mysteries. Born into a farming family in Rocanville, Saskatchewan, in 1943, a town of 500 inhabitants, the young boy had lots of opportunity to explore.
As a youth he had an unusual fascination for building rockets. "He wanted to see them fly up into space," said his cousin Marian MacKinnon in a eulogy at St. Philip's Anglican Church on Tuesday.
The young Allan indeed seemed destined to "discover" something, because fatefully, he encountered what he felt was a life-and-death experience that drastically changed the course of his life. He really thought he would die if he continued with his high roller lifestyle as an insurance salesman.
Allan chose to live at that point, but he lost all of his material wealth, his career and his wife. He soon found himself living in a dingy basement suite on a diet consisting of $1 bags of rotten vegetables from Granville Market.
"He delighted in it," says Peggy, his daughter. "He was so happy living like that." From riches to rags, Allan discovered great joy in this newfound simplicity and his spiritual inclinations started to blossom. It was during this time that Allan worked a stint at a pie shop and the idea of owning his own pie shop took form in his mind. However, it would be some time before that idea came to fruition.
Ever the explorer searching for illumination in space, Allan came upon an opportunity to start a business searching for sunken Spanish treasure. He had the scientific backing, and personally raised half a million dollars for the project, hired out submarines, did business with state leaders, and flew around the world. According to his son Derrick, although in the end he may have located some gold, he had by that time lost interest in the project.
Next, there was a successful painting business, and then a marketing stint at Hollyhock Retreat Centre on Cortez Island where Allan's network of friends grew by leaps and bounds.
As a youth, Allan spurned the idea of farming for a living. But before long he joined the Glen Valley Organic Farm cooperative where he returned to his roots. "He had to do it his own way," said MacKinnon.
Many significant ideas took root in Allan's mind while living and farming out at Glen Valley, along the Fraser River flood plains in Langley. For instance, he saw fruit rotting beneath the trees, and he desired to save the fruit. So he picked up the apples and baked some pies for his friends and family. How he must have enjoyed this connection to the country kitchen of his childhood.
One day, most significant for all of us who knew Allan, he received an e-mail from Colin Lymworth, the owner of Banyan Books, who had just moved to a lonely stretch of 4th Avenue, Lymworth was urging his friends to open up businesses and become his neighbors.
"I'll open a pie shop right there," thought Allan.
Allan's circle of friends grew through the sharing of space and food. Within a year he had opened a café beside his pie shop. He truly came full circle when he was able to connect the food from the farm directly with the people who were eating it.
Allan loved and delighted in all who frequented Aphrodite's. His door and his arms were always open. "Come as you are and be loved," was his philosophy. He had a knack for knowing what is important in life, and disregarding the rest. Aphrodite's was Allan's creation. Everything he saw there he endeavored to see within himself—he felt it was a reflection of him. Is this why thousands of Vancouverites love it, why we bring our friends and family with joy to this special place over and over again; why we gravitate there for one of 15 different types of organic pies, and why we feel so good when doing so?
With such a big heart, Allan he deeply touched our lives and hearts. Those who knew him in person are lucky. Those who met him only once are still lucky. Yet, we are in fact all lucky, because Aphrodite's will live on through Allan's spirit, through the ownership of the restaurant by his son and daughter, and through the legacy of the beautiful space that Allan left to us with which to continue our own journeys.
This was written in remembrance of Allan because he was an eccentric and good person who touched countless lives; because he was a dear friend, a fellow practitioner of the spiritual practice of Falun Dafa, and a strong supporter of The Epoch Times.
Allan, may you rest in peace. You always told us to be ourselves. Thank you for being you.
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