Hakim Optical founder Karim Hakimi has strong Scarborough roots, and Glenn helped to ensure that Mr. Hakimi’s significant contributions to Scarborough will be recognized by naming a new LRT stop after him!
At the TTC meeting of November 23, 2015, Glenn moved—and the TTC Board unanimously agreed—to support naming a stop after Mr. Hakimi. Then, Glenn and Councillor Michael Thompson sent a formal request to Metrolinx, which is in charge of the LRT line and the naming of all stops. It’s been decided that, when the LRT opens in 2020, one of the stops will be called Lebovic-Hakimi, in honour of two Scarborough citizens who contributed much to our community.
Karim Hakimi has created hundreds of jobs in Scarborough and across the country and has helped many local charities, such as Ride for Sight. Nearly 100 people work at various Hakim locations across Scarborough alone, and the firm’s oldest site—located in Scarborough Centre on Lawrence Avenue East, just west of Markham Road—is one of Hakim’s largest laboratories.
Mr. Hakimi was born in Iran. He was forced to leave school and work to support his family at the age of 9, when his father died. He found work in Iran grinding discarded window glass into lenses for magnifying glasses and eyeglasses. At 14, Mr. Hakimi attended night school to complete his elementary education, learning to read and write. He later emigrated to Germany and Switzerland, where he honed his skills while making camera and telescope lenses.
Mr. Hakimi finally settled in Toronto, where he eventually opened his first retail store. There are now almost 170 retail stores operating across Canada, employing more than 600 people.