Members of Toronto city council and Mayor John Tory took an extended lunch break from a council meeting Wednesday to dine at Mezes Restaurant on the Danforth — to show their support for a community recovering from a deadly mass shooting.

Coun Mary Fragedakis, who represents Ward 29, Toronto-Danforth, helped organize the event at the eatery, which is located at 456 Danforth Avenue, along with Coun. Paula Fletcher, who represents the neighbouring Ward 30, also in Toronto-Danforth.

"We have to pick up the pieces and somehow carry on," Fragedakis told CBC Toronto.

"We want to let others in the city know that from all the parts of this city people are thinking about the people who live and work in the Danforth area and that they support them."

Two people died in the shooting on Sunday — Reese Fallon, 18, a former student at Malvern Collegiate, and 10-year-old Julianna Kozis of Markham. Thirteen others were injured. The gunman, 29-year-old Faisal Hussain, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a shootout with police.

About 20 councillors were expected to attend the lunch, Fragedakis said.

The Mezes Restaurant was chosen because it is very close to Logan and Danforth avenues and near the Alexander the Great Parkette where people are paying tribute to the 15 shooting victims with a makeshift memorial.

People leave flowers at a memorial honouring the victims of the mass shooting on Toronto's Danforth Avenue close to where Toronto city councillors dined to show support for the community. (Mark Blinch/Canadian Press) "I thought councillors could stop by the parkette and see the growing tribute — people leaving candles,flowers, and signs expressing their sadness their grief," said Fragedakis.

"And also there was a waiter in that restaurant who was shot in the arm. The owner of Mezes told me she feels he probably saved another staff person's life because he was basically standing in from of [the gunman]."

Fragedakis called local businesses on the Danforth Tuesday to provide the names of grief counsellors who are offering their services pro bono to staff who work in the establishments.

"I spoke to the owners of Caffe Demetre and Mezes because they both had their places shot up and unfortunately the two fatalities were at Caffe Demetre; their staff are quite traumatized."

'An important symbolic gesture'

She said the city is also providing support services in several languages, including Greek and Chinese.

"Someone is distributing information about where people can go to get help from a crisis team here at the city," she said.

Councillors Mary Fragedakis, left, and Paula Fletcher organized the luncheon at Mezes Restaurant on Wednesday. (CBC) "It is important that as leaders in the city we go to a site of a tragedy and reflect on what's happened and at the same time show our support."

Members of the Greektown on the Danforth BIA also attended the luncheon. Howard Lichtman is a spokesperson for the BIA and is one of the organizers of Taste of the Danforth.

"It an important symbolic gesture for everyone in the city to see that the leaders they voted in are saying the right thing to do is to support the community by coming down and being here," Lichtman said.

'It doesn't define Toronto'

Lichtman is encouraged by the amount of people he has seen on the Danforth since the shooting.

"It's important that that continue, that everybody shows the community that a single act of violence and senseless murder doesn't define Greektown, it doesn't define the Danforth, and it doesn't define Toronto".

Fragedakis agrees,

"People are grieving ... Obviously there is some anger, but people have been really good," she said.

"Many have come out to the Danforth to show their support. This is a place many people go to eat dinner with their families, to stroll, have a drink, have some dessert."

But she admits she is still having a hard time processing what happened.

The festival will mark its 25th anniversary this August, just weeks after a deadly shooting rocked the Danforth neighbourhood. (Taste of the Danforth)

"I am heartbroken. I saw the picture of the little girl who died ... and found out more details about the young woman who graduated from Malvern who was killed. I am pretty devastated. We are going to try to recover, but there will always be the memory of this and the people who died".

"Everyone is still in shock and mourning, but plans will be made to honour the shooting victims and recognize the tragedy at the upcoming Taste of the Danforth," said Lichtman.

"Will we do something, absolutely. What we are going to do, that's to figure out next week," he said.

"First, we have to appropriately make sure that people have the opportunity to express the sorrow they're truly feeling for people's lives that were lost."