Latest news with #NovaScotian
Global News
27-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
N.S. brothers ‘opening the eyes' of many to Lebanese culture 1 Shawarma at a time
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 the 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. Story continues below advertisement 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, N.L., area. The franchise is soon expanding in Ontario, and international outlets are next on the horizon. View image in full screen Brothers Peter, left, and Tony Nahas, who took over the family restaurants and expanded the Mezza Lebanese Kitchen, pose at one of their locations in Halifax on Friday, May 23, 2025. Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press Some business leaders see the chain as an example of the widening goals of Nova Scotia's Lebanese diaspora, and its plans for expansion. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy '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. Story continues below advertisement 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. View image in full screen Brothers Peter, left, and Tony Nahas, who took over the family restaurants and expanded the Mezza Lebanese Kitchen, pose at one of their locations in Halifax on Friday, May 23, 2025. Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press 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. Story continues below advertisement 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 kg 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. Story continues below advertisement 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, N.S., 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.
Business Wire
27-05-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
Baddeck Home Support Workers vote 100% in favour of a strike
VICTORIA COUNTY, Nova Scotia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Late last week, home support workers at Victoria County Home Support (VCHSS) voted 100% in favour of a strike mandate, citing no guaranteed hours, unfair wages, workplace safety, and wear and tear on personal vehicles as their main issues. "We believe in the value of home support to the health care system; we know how important it is to help people stay in their homes longer. We deserve fair pay; we deserve a safe working environment; and we deserve stable working hours' Share 'After four years out of contract and seven months of bargaining, we're tired of waiting for the Nova Scotia government and our employer to recognize our issues,' said Trish Lewis-Pierrard, president of CUPE 4354, the local union that represents the workers of VCHSS. Like many other home support Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs), home support workers at VCHSS do not have guaranteed hours of work. This means that their hours fluctuate week to week and are subject to change based on the client's needs. Yet, despite this instability, all home support workers are expected to own their own reliable vehicle with insurance and a Nova Scotian registration. 'We had one new hire in 2024. The only new hire that stayed before that was in 2018,' said Lewis-Pierrard. 'When I started in 2007, we had 26 CCAs on staff. Now we have 16. That isn't sustainable. New graduates need to want to come to VCHSS for their career and stay, and that's not going to happen with unstable hours and low wages.' 'It's impossible for CCAs in this sector to make any long term plans,' said CUPE Home Support Sector Coordinator Kathy MacLeod. 'Every week, their hours and pay can change based on the clients. This doesn't happen in any other sector. No CCA in long term care or at the hospitals has their pay change depending on how many residents or patients they see in a day.' Another issue remaining on the table is improved workplace safety language. Home support workers are expected to enter client homes unaccompanied to provide care, often in remote areas without cell service or reception. The local is fighting for a more clear and effective process for when incidents arise and better protections for the CCAs working in the field. 'None of us want to strike, but we are all prepared to if that's what it takes for our issues to be addressed. We believe in the value of home support to the health care system; we know how important it is to help people stay in their homes longer. We deserve fair pay; we deserve a safe working environment; and we deserve stable working hours,' finished Lewis-Pierrard. CUPE 4354 is the third CUPE Home Support local to take a positive strike vote. :so/cope491
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Baddeck Home Support Workers vote 100% in favour of a strike
VICTORIA COUNTY, Nova Scotia, May 27, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Late last week, home support workers at Victoria County Home Support (VCHSS) voted 100% in favour of a strike mandate, citing no guaranteed hours, unfair wages, workplace safety, and wear and tear on personal vehicles as their main issues. "After four years out of contract and seven months of bargaining, we're tired of waiting for the Nova Scotia government and our employer to recognize our issues," said Trish Lewis-Pierrard, president of CUPE 4354, the local union that represents the workers of VCHSS. Like many other home support Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs), home support workers at VCHSS do not have guaranteed hours of work. This means that their hours fluctuate week to week and are subject to change based on the client's needs. Yet, despite this instability, all home support workers are expected to own their own reliable vehicle with insurance and a Nova Scotian registration. "We had one new hire in 2024. The only new hire that stayed before that was in 2018," said Lewis-Pierrard. "When I started in 2007, we had 26 CCAs on staff. Now we have 16. That isn't sustainable. New graduates need to want to come to VCHSS for their career and stay, and that's not going to happen with unstable hours and low wages." "It's impossible for CCAs in this sector to make any long term plans," said CUPE Home Support Sector Coordinator Kathy MacLeod. "Every week, their hours and pay can change based on the clients. This doesn't happen in any other sector. No CCA in long term care or at the hospitals has their pay change depending on how many residents or patients they see in a day." Another issue remaining on the table is improved workplace safety language. Home support workers are expected to enter client homes unaccompanied to provide care, often in remote areas without cell service or reception. The local is fighting for a more clear and effective process for when incidents arise and better protections for the CCAs working in the field. "None of us want to strike, but we are all prepared to if that's what it takes for our issues to be addressed. We believe in the value of home support to the health care system; we know how important it is to help people stay in their homes longer. We deserve fair pay; we deserve a safe working environment; and we deserve stable working hours," finished Lewis-Pierrard. CUPE 4354 is the third CUPE Home Support local to take a positive strike vote. :so/cope491 View source version on Contacts For more information, please contact: Kathy MacLeodCUPE Home SupportSector Coordinator(902) 578-3304Trish Lewis-PierrardCUPE 4354 President(902) 317-0136Taylor JohnstonCUPE Atlantic CommunicationsRepresentativetjohnston@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hamilton Spectator
27-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
N.S.‘s Lebanese entrepreneurs build a national presence, as Shawarma leads the way
HALIFAX - 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 the 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, N.L., 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 kg 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, N.S., 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. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025. — With files from Jaqueline Newsome in Halifax.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
N.S.'s Lebanese entrepreneurs build a national presence, as Shawarma leads the way
HALIFAX — 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 the 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, N.L., 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 kg 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, N.S., 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. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025. — With files from Jaqueline Newsome in Halifax. Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
