Nova Scotia's Lebanese entrepreneurs build a national presence, as shawarma leads the way

At a Mezza Lebanese Kitchen restaurant, Tony Nahas demonstrates slicing from a spit of roasting chicken much as his father did — with a razor-sharp knife dropping the aromatic meat from grill to gathering tray.

But then he switches to what he calls the "newer generation's" tool: a humming, electric carver that can create shawarma servings more efficiently for hungry lunchtime customers.

It's essentially the same style of Middle Eastern meat, marinated in a secret sauce created in the family restaurant 35 years ago, but produced for more customers. Like the ambitions of the younger generation of Lebanese Nova Scotian entrepreneurs, the business plans of the restaurant are expanding into faster and larger horizons.

"For our parents, it was just putting food on the [restaurant] table. That's what mattered. For us, it's how do we increase the scale of that," said Peter Nahas, Tony's younger brother and business partner.

Across the city, at a federally certified, large-scale production facility, custom-designed machinery produces hummus, garlic sauce and pickled turnips for 24 locations, including recently opened outlets in Calgary and in the St. John's area. The franchise is soon expanding in Ontario, and international outlets are next on the horizon.

Some business leaders see the chain as an example of the widening goals of Nova Scotia's Lebanese diaspora, and its plans for expansion.

"We celebrate together ... we mourn together, we do business together," said Norman Nahas, a major player in the city's real estate scene, adding the community gathers for festivals, baptisms and burials at two large Halifax churches.

"My father came in 1967, others came in the 1970s ... And now you're seeing second and third generations continuing in the family business. It's gone from operating a corner store, to buying an adjacent building, to learning to build and grow an industry," said the Lebanese Chamber of Commerce in Nova Scotia leader — who recently partnered in opening a new Moxy Hotel in Halifax.

Nahas, a first cousin to the restaurateurs, estimates the chamber now has close to 1,300 members, in a community of about 12,000 people in the capital city.

He says the Mezza enterprise is being watched by the city's Lebanese network, as an example of one of their own taking a franchise across the country.

"They're opening the eyes of Canadians to what Lebanese food is on a quick service food level, which there aren't many other brands matching," said Norman Nahas.

The Nahas brothers recall rushing from school to the original family restaurant at lunch hours, where they were assigned tasks as they became teenagers. Their parents' workday usually went from 8 a.m. until 9:30 p.m., until their 2012 retirement.

Their story resonates with Joe Metlege, another second-generation Lebanese Nova Scotian entrepreneur, whose Templeton Properties has grown into one of the city's major developers.

Children were brought up to labour in the family enterprise, said Metlege, recalling days of cleaning apartments for his father's company.

"They [the first generation] didn't come here with a social safety net and expectations of government handouts. They came to survive and take care of their families," he said.

The Nahas siblings say their business concept hinges on ideas inherited from the prior generation, blended with their knowledge of the fast-paced demands of Canadian life.

Tony recalls his father teaching him to display delicious dishes so that customers "eat with their eyes." He insists on franchises chopping their own vegetables, while the Arabic music playing in the background is "non-negotiable."

On the other hand, the family processing plant now debones the chicken destined for shawarma dishes, and it's not uncommon to have three, 30- to 60-kilogram roasts underway at one location. At the chain's downtown location, open into the small hours of the morning, as many as six spits disappear into Halifax stomachs over 24 hours.

Peter Nahas says Lebanese business networks mostly assist in the form of advice, support and mentoring — rather than direct investment from venture capitalists. They rely on banking and conventional investment channels to fund their growth, he said.

"But you see a lot of Lebanese Nova Scotian partnerships, and a lot of people working together just as pure business operations," he said.

It also doesn't hurt to have hungry Lebanese newcomers and their descendants across Canada, willing to support a fast-food version of their cuisine.

In Windsor, Ont., Natasha Feghali, a chair of the Windsor-Essex Lebanese Community Council, said in a recent interview she's eagerly awaiting one of the outlets opening in the Ontario community this summer.

"I think for everyone it will be a pleasure to welcome a new restaurant in our area. We'll see not only Lebanese but other Windsor residents going to enjoy the cuisine," she said.