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Kelowna pizzeria offers jobs to staff of burned down restaurant

DunnEnzies wanted to help Rutland’s Olympia Greek Taverna through hard times
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After a late-night fire damaged Rutland’s Olympia Greek Taverna last Tuesday, Oct. 6, about 30 staff members found themselves without a job.

Co-owner Mike Koutsantonis said the fire was devastating to his family and the staff.

“We’ve had to fight through COVID and now this. It’s devastating. We have 30 people that are going to be out of work,” he said in a previous interview with Black Press Media.

“30 staff members who stuck with us through COVID to make things happen and now, they’re out of a job.”

READ: Kelowna restaurant landmark up in flames

But another local restaurant has stepped up to help as many of Olympia’s staff members as they can.

DunnEnzies Pizza Co. has four locations in Kelowna and currently, they’re looking for people to help staff those restaurants.

Brittany Guger is the Landmark location’s manager and she said she saw a post on a Facebook group about helping fellow service employees from Olympia.

“One person commented thanking everyone, so then I messaged him and I said that the (DunnEnzies) Landmark, airport and Mission locations are looking for staff and we can offer them temporary employment until their store reopens,” she said.

She added the person she messaged has let his former co-workers know about the opportunity. Last week, she said a man came into her store and asked for a job.

”He was really grateful… he’s really happy that we gave him employment. He and the other Olympia employees got together and talked about it, so more of them might work at our stores,” she said.

Guger said the restaurant’s owners, Deb Dunnigan and Karyn MacKenzie want to support Olympia as much as they can.

“We’re here with open arms, 100 per cent.”

READ: ‘It’s devastating’: Olympia Taverna owner speaks on restaurant loss


Twila Amato
Video journalist, Black Press Okanagan
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Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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