A city block on the edge of downtown St. John’s best known for its fish and chips restaurants has attracted a couple of food spots offering spicier selections.
Muhammed Talal Elseyadi, who came to St. John’s from Syria with his family almost five years ago, recently opened a small grocery store called Sedra Foods at the corner of Freshwater and Lemarchant. The store opened four months ago, but it’s a business idea Elseyadi has had in his mind for about three years.
“When I came here (to St. John’s), I need to buy something from the Middle East, and international food, you have some at Dominion and a little bit for sale, but not enough,” he told The Telegram.
Elseyadi has a cousin in Toronto, and he knows the situation there for people originally from the Middle East cooking food at home is a lot different when it comes to what they can buy from a store.
“They have everything,” he said.
Indus Eatery
A few buildings up from Elseyadi’s business is a new Pakistani-Indian food spot, Indus Eatery. Owners Bilal Muzaffar and Yasir Saeed are both originally from Pakistan and opened the restaurant in late September, looking for a different way to make a living.
Saeed, who has a master’s degree in sociology, worked in the food industry locally, including International Flavours, a popular St. John’s restaurant that closed earlier this year. It’s his first time getting involved in owning a restaurant, as is the case for Muzaffar, who has a master’s degree himself and came to Newfoundland and Labrador intending to work in the oil and gas sector.
“I met (Saeed) two years ago. I have seen him struggling in the restaurant business industry and looking for his own professional job in the masters (degree) he did. We came up with an idea. Why don’t we just start a business of our own?” — Balil Muzaffar
“It was hard for me,” said Muzaffar. “I met (Saeed) two years ago. I have seen him struggling in the restaurant business industry and looking for his own professional job in the masters (degree) he did. We came up with an idea. Why don’t we just start a business of our own?”
They serve traditional meat-based curries and platters and also offer vegetarian options, in addition to serving what they’d consider fast food, like burgers or a club sandwich.
“It’s Indian-Pakistani cuisine, where the flavours and the smell bring you back to the home country,” Saeed said.
Food trends
In St. John’s, Saeed has noticed people embracing food from other cultures and considers it a solid trend. He’s also aware Indian food has a lengthier history in the city than most other international culinary delights.
“People are expecting a lot, because they believe we’ll deliver the best quality, we’ll deliver the greatest and the best food taste from the home country,” Saeed said, adding he’s hopeful the combination of great food and good customer service will make customers want to come back a second time.
They’ve managed to offer jobs to some post-secondary students that Muzaffar said have felt isolated during the pandemic, living so far from home and family. The restaurant offers a student discount — as well as a weekly package deal — and free meals for homeless people during certain hours of the day.
“It’s a part of our culture back home,” Muzaffar said. “We have been told, if you are having good food, but your neighbour is hungry, you having good food is useless. You first have to ask your neighbour. Especially this part of the area, you see a lot of people in need around ... I don’t think there is any day where they didn’t show up.”
COVID challenges
At Sedra Foods, Elseyadi carries a variety of dry goods, including sauces, spices, pickled vegetables, beverages, dessert items, rice and special cheeses, including nabulsi and akawi. He gets the food imported from Syria, Iran and Egypt, among other countries. Elseyadi takes suggestions from customers based on their food needs, noting each country has its own unique items. He also carries hookahs for tobacco smoking.
Getting the store open took a lot of work, and the first few months since then have not been easy, Elseyadi admits.
“I am open now, but you know this time, this time is very hard,” he said. “Now, COVID-19 is still back.”
For Indus Eatery, the first few weeks after opening were good, but Muzaffar said that changed as COVID-19 cases started rising again in Newfoundland and Labrador through the month of November. He has heard customers suggest they’re brave to open a restaurant during the pandemic. Muzaffar also suspects the Christmas shopping season has people thinking more about buying gifts than eating out.
“I guess people are more scared for dining outside,” he said. “The last two weeks, people are setting up for Black Friday and more people are going towards the mall. We are not doing so well for the last couple of weeks.”
Well aware of the challenge that lies ahead, Elseyadi said he’s prepared to work hard and address any food needs customers might identify.
“All businesses now have problems with COVID-19,” Elseyadi said, adding he feels there are less people out and about compared to what it was like before the pandemic.
Andrew Robinson is a business reporter in St. John's.
