Surrey’s “Sandwich Nazi” is closing the doors of his Port Kells deli.
Salam Kahil is well known for making meaty sandwiches with an attitude at La Charcuterie Delicatessen, on 96th Avenue.
Kahil aimed to close the deli forever on Sept. 13, but customer Matt Kunzli launched an online petition to have the shop remain open for one final weekend, Sept. 19-20.
“This man has done more for the community and the less fortunate than most people could ever hope to do in their entire life,” Kunzli wrote in a post at change.org.
“All of it was done using his own hard earned money, and countless hours of his time, along with an awesome crew of volunteers. He has been there for us through his own health battles and tragic losses, so let’s all get together and show our support for him, and show him our love by getting enough signatures to have him back for one final weekend.”
The Lebanon-born Kahil has posted messages and videos on a Facebook page called “Sandwich Nazi Forever,” including word of a fundraiser he launched in August following the massive explosion in Beirut.
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The Sandwich Nazi from Lewis Bennett on Vimeo.
A 2015 documentary shed light on “The Sandwich Nazi,” described as “art collector, a former male escort, an amateur musician, and a sandwich maker to the homeless in Vancouver’s poorest neighborhood. But his true passion is talking about sex.”
The 72-minute movie follows Kahil “as he struggles to come to terms with aging, failing health, and a past that forced him to flee his home in Lebanon as a child.”
• RELATED STORY, from 2017: Surrey’s ‘Sandwich Nazi’ not happy with movie made about him.
Kunzli’s petition says Kahil would agree to open the deli for one final weekend if 500 signatures were collected, and so far close to 2,800 people have signed.
“We all love you Salam and your presence at the shop will be sadly missed!” Kunzli posted. “You will leave a huge void in the lower mainland lunch scene, and I don’t know if anyone will ever be able to fill your shoes. But it’s been an honour being a customer of yours over the years and I hope we can all rally for one last weekend with you!”
CLICK HERE to read the petition.
CLICK HERE to see Kahil in video posted to Facebook.
