From Humble Beginnings to Community Pillar: The Legacy of José Eustáquio – Part 2

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For decades, a narrow stereotype painted immigrants as individuals escaping poverty with little to contribute beyond manual labor. But the truth was — and remains — far more compelling. Many of these newcomers brought with them resilience, ambition, and vision. All they needed was the right environment to thrive. In Canada, they found it. Among these immigrant stories, the journey of the Portuguese community stands out. Since the arrival of just 69 individuals in Halifax in 1953, the community has grown to over half a million strong. Some members have lived quietly, shaping their families and neighborhoods behind the scenes. Others have made lasting contributions in the cultural, social, and professional fabric of Canadian life. One of the most prominent figures among them is José Eustáquio. Born in Peniche and a Nazareno at heart, Eustáquio arrived in Canada in 1974. Even when he wasn’t actively seeking it, the Portuguese community surrounded and influenced him. So when he was elected President of the Alliance of Portuguese Clubs and Associations of Ontario (ACAPO) in 1997, it came as no surprise. Over the years, his name became inseparable from the organization. A tireless leader, advocate, and champion of Portuguese culture, José Eustáquio has carved out a legacy that has made him a legend within the community. Opinions about him may vary — some praise him, others critique — but his impact is undeniable. Admiration is something he has earned across the board. In the coming days, we will be publishing a series of articles exploring the life of José Eustáquio, drawn from a recent four-hour conversation with him. Each piece is presented in the first person, transcribed directly from José Eustáquio’s own words, to preserve the authenticity and nuance of his voice across the various topics we discussed. Once the series is complete, all the articles will be compiled into a single, comprehensive narrative. Enjoy, comment, contribute. Let’s write history together!

In the second segment of the series, José Eustáquio reflects on his professional journey, highlighting the significant influence of the Portuguese community and its members from the beginning and throughout his career. He also discusses how his professional connection with Labatt led to his involvement with the Alliance of Portuguese Clubs and Associations of Ontario.

Disclaimer: The opinions and statements in the article that follows are those of José Eustáquio and do not represent the position or opinions of Luso Canada Media Corp. or lusocanada.com.

START OF PROFESSIONAL LIFE

So, I’m living on welfare in grade 10, in 1979. I’m barely fifteen. I started playing in the Luso Canadian Soccer League for Bad Brothers and we had Luciano Alves there, who managed Le Chateau in Yorkdale before opening the Times Boutique on College. We played with Bernardo da Velha, who played for Porto, Ferrari, a Brazilian who was an amazing player, Valter, Quintinho, who played for many years in Portugal in the second division, Fernando Marques, who was the first Portuguese to play for the Rochester Americans of the North American Soccer League. We had a great team. Manuel Casinho, the goalkeeper, Sam Medeiros…they both went to play in Portugal afterwards, and a kid like me.

I met Luciano Alves and he put me to work as a security guard at Le Chateau Yorkdale at Christmas time. Underage. The store had a leather section. At the time leather was in fashion. It was the section that had the most economic weight. Then, I cleaned the store at the end of the day. Luciano Alves was the store manager and there was also Ilídio Vilela, who was the lead singer of Capas Negras. For me, he was the best salesman I’ve met in my life to date. Ilídio was from Lourinhã and Luciano was from near Rabo de Peixe, in Calhetas.

I remember when we had breaks, when I worked weekends, we sat in front of the store. At that time, Yorkdale was L-shaped. Today it is much larger. Across from Le Chateau was Thrifty’s and Tony Brandão, an Azorean, was the manager there. We would sit there drinking coffee and start talking about how one day we would open a Portuguese store on College Street. That’s how Times Boutique started, which opened in April of 1979. I was at Bloor Collegiate and went directly to work at Times after school. Ilídio left Le Chateau to work with me at Times, but Luciano stayed at Le Chateau for many years. I worked at the College store for many years with Ilídio and with Luis Aguiar, who was Luciano’s first cousin, who passed away many years ago. I think he was the first Portuguese person to die of AIDS in Canada, in 1981, if I recall correctly. Then, Luciano and Ilídio opened the second Times Boutique on Dundas, west of Dovercourt. At that time, it was next to Café Elite. There was enormous growth in the Portuguese community. Our store was always full and successful.  

Luciano Alves gave me a place to live. It’s one of the things I never forget. It’s interesting that when we talk about Portuguese cuisine, when I was 15 and 16 years old, I lived with Albino Silva who eventually opened Chiado, and with Tony Pereira who eventually opened Rogues in Mississauga, which was considered one of the best restaurants in the city for 30 years. It was located in Sherwood Forest, on Dundas and Erin Mills. Then there are the Two Tony’s, one from Minho and one from the Azores whom still own Opus, in downtown Toronto, which is to me, one of the top 5 restaurants in Canada.

Luciano used to have Bocas Café with his brother David, but his strength was his clothing stores. I’m still here today because of them. I lived with them for a while. We carried a lot of clothing lines at Times Boutique, we carried a jean line in 1982 and 1983, that was called Pop 84. When they sponsored the Italian National team in the World Cup in Spain in 1982 and Italy became world champion, Pop 84 exploded. They were also sponsoring Nigel Mansel, the Ferrari driver for F1. He was the world champion. We represented the brand. When the Italians came to Toronto after the world cup, in 1982, they gave Luciano and Tony Brandão the opportunity to open the first Pop 84 in north America, in Woodbridge, on Market Lane on August 24, 1985. I went there to manage it. I was at York University doing my studies in the morning and managing the store in the afternoon. We later went on to open 26 stores in North America, 18 between Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, New York and Los Angeles. I lived in Los Angeles for 8 months, where we opened up five stores. I worked hard and lived harder.

LABATT – MAKING A DIFFERENCE

On one of my visits back to Toronto, I went to watch a Benfica game at Bocas Cafe on College Street. I was in Toronto visiting my mother (I was living in Los Angeles) and while I was there at Bocas, Luciano introduced me to a group of people from Labatt. He said, ”you guys are looking for a sales rep, you should talk to this guy”. “But I’m living in Los Angeles, I’m good”, I said. They needed someone in the Portuguese community who knew everybody, and I guess at the time I was considered somebody who had access because I was also involved in most of the popular night clubs in the city. I knew everybody in Toronto. Labatt offered me a job. That was in March. I called them on May 1^st, and I started to work for them on May 10th 1990.

I am not and have never been a beer drinker, quite the contrary. Even today, I don’t like beer, and I worked for Labatt for 10 years. My Area to manage was the Portuguese community and all of downtown Toronto. So, all of the nightclubs, including 26 strip clubs. At the time, as a young Portuguese kid, all of my friends wanted to have access to clubs and the nightlife of Toronto. Some of them wanted to go to the nightclubs. I easily became very popular and had access.

What did I soon understand? I understood that a lot of people drink beer. So, I started understanding the amount of profit that the beer industry represented to Labatt and that Labatt needed maximum representation.  At the time, Molson Brewery had access to the Canadian identity, which was hockey. Molson had Hockey Night in Canada. Labatt had nothing, but then wen the Blue Jays won the World Series in 92 and 93, Labatt exploded , and I was the representative in downtown Toronto.

If anybody benefited from being involved with the Blue Jays, it was me. I was their beer rep, but I tell you: I was not a beer rep. I was more than that. Honestly, I did things that today would not be possible. That’s how much power a beer rep had at the time. It was ridiculous. One of the first things that I realized was that I needed to sell, because my salary was minimal. I was making $48,000 a year. But my potential bonuses were big.

Conquering the Portuguese Community’s Market 

I soon understood that the Portuguese loved draft beer and Carlsberg. As we had Carlsberg, it was their draft beer of choice. Within 6 months, I ended up selling more Carlsberg in the Portuguese community than all of Canada put together and that continued for the 10 years that I was associated with Labatt. In Denmark, Carlsberg comes from Copenhagen… who was important to them? Me! So, they would provide me with all the tools to be successful. From European Championships, to World Cups of Soccer, I had access to a lot and, with it, I sold a lot of beer.

I understood the Portuguese market. The Portuguese were hard workers. Amadeus on Augusta, Zé do Brasil Restaurant on Nassau, Carlos Bernardo and João who had Benitos, eventually Bola, then Carlos Bar, all on College Street. They simply liked to go to Portugal every year and, in the process to retain their business, you simply provided what they wanted/needed. I said to them, “In exchange for not being in your tavern every day, you and your family will go to Portugal every year, I will assist with that. You take the whole family, you can be there for a month, but I want your business. Do you want a satellite dish to show the games here at the bar? I’ll handle it. Do you want a draft beer system? I’ll get that.” I had the tools that allowed me to be aggressive. But in addition to the local bars and establishments, to achieve Labatt/Carslberg predominance in the community, I also supported all the media, from newspapers, to radio, to television and, yes, the community clubs and festivals.

Sponsoring ACAPO’s Portugal Week

Portugal week in 1990 belonged to Molson. I entered in 1990, on May 10th. Portugal week was already sponsored by Molson when I joined Labatt. I realized that Ethnic Media Agency got a 92-thousand-dollar sponsorship agreement and only gave 26 thousand dollars to the ACAPO. I approached ACAPO. Jorge Ribeiro at that time was the president. The goal was to make Portugal Week a Labatt sponsored event. We started in 1991. Portugal week moved to Labatt and for many years until 2000, Labatt was the saviour of Portugal week, including the years that Manuel Carvalho chose to take Portugal week to the Forum at Ontario Place, which was a Molson venue. Labatt had no access to the Forum, Labatt couldn’t even put up a sign or sell a beer, but the biggest Sponsor of Portugal Week in 1992, 1993 and 1994 at Ontario Place Forum was still Labatt.

The ACAPO lost huge money in 1991 with Linda de Suza and Xutos at the CNE. It was a big spectacle at the stadium when Linda de Suza didn’t show up, and the ACAPO was going to go under. Labatt stepped up and saved the ACAPO. It cost Labatt over 200 thousand dollars. Nobody talks about it. There are many things that people don’t talk about. Memories are short.

Helping Community Organizations

When Casa do Alentejo was on Dufferin north of Dundas and there was no money to pay the rent, José Eustáquio showed up there with Labatt’s check to pay the rent, $5,000 per month. And we gave beer at the same time and waited for the beer to be paid for. When Casa dos Açores was on Dundas, west of Bathurst, and was unable to pay the rent, José Eustáquio paid the rent with personal checks and waited months to get the funds back.

The first fundraiser for the Mississauga Cultural Centre’s new building, they were at Dundas west of Dixie, was a lunch gala at Renaissance when Mário Soares came to Toronto. It was a Sunday afternoon lunch, organized by the Mississauga Cultural Center’s Pro-Sede Committee, when José da Costa from Addison on Bay came up to me and said, “Joe, if you don’t get on stage and start this, we are not going to be able to raise any money.” I go up on stage: “On behalf of Labatt, I commit $5,000 for the next 5 years.” Labatt didn’t even know what I was doing. It was on a Sunday afternoon. The president of the Mississauga Club on Monday called Labatt asking for the money. Memories are short and forgotten, the things we were able to accomplish.

Leaving Labatt

I am certain that I left because of the community. It was August 10^th, 2000. Those whom I assisted, helped and financed in the community for over 10 years turned on me. I was at the opening of Docks on Polson Street…I got them their license to open. I had a Labatt vehicle, but that Friday night I showed up in a Porsche. I parked like I did all the time, right in front of the door, because that’s what I did. At every night club in Toronto, there could be 10,000 people lined up outside, I would be the first guy to get in with all my friends, because I gave them everything they wanted. People respected me. I took care of them, they took care of me. Respect. What’s wrong with that? So, that night, the way they looked at me, I knew I was in trouble. I made $62,000 a year and I was driving a Porsche. People thought, “what is he doing?” I deserved it, I worked for it, but it was a mistake.

August 10, 2000, was my last day at Labatt.

You can contribute to this piece by sending us your most memorable moments related to José Eustáquio, which will publish as a complement. Send us your stories to contact@lusocanada.com or fill out our form using “José Eustáquio” as your subject.