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London, Ont.-based entrepreneur Omar Hamam is the founder and CEO of Tahini\u2019s, a chain of Mediterranean cuisine restaurants. Its first Manitoba location opens in Winnipeg in July.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear the word Winnipeg and a smile automatically comes to my face,\u201d he said by phone on Friday. \u201cI\u2019m more excited about opening there than any other province just because of my past history with (Manitoba).\u201d<\/p>\n
Situated at the northwest corner of Portage Avenue and Cavalier Drive in the Crestview Place shopping centre, the new Tahini\u2019s location will feature the same menu the chain has become known for in other parts of the country. Shawarma wraps, rice bowls, fresh salads and fries are among the offerings.<\/p>\n
The menu includes fusion items such as butter chicken shawarma, Jamaican jerk chicken shawarma and shawarma poutine. Customers can also order one of the chain\u2019s latest creations, shawarma ramen.<\/p>\n
The 1,400-square-foot restaurant will employ 15-20 people and includes seating for around 30 customers. Food will also be available for takeout. July 6 is the projected opening day, Hamam said.<\/p>\n
Manish Patel, a businessman in Collingwood, Ont., is the franchisee. He already owns three Tahini\u2019s restaurants in Ontario, and has connected with two local partners who will manage the Winnipeg location.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so excited,\u201d said Patel, 51. \u201cIt\u2019s good quality food, with a good taste.\u201d<\/p>\n
It will be a unique offering at the shopping centre, which also includes Pizza Hut, Wayback Burgers, Joey\u2019s Seafood and Sushi Maru.<\/p>\n
Across the parking lot is a well-known eatery adorned with golden arches. It\u2019s fitting, perhaps, since Hamam was inspired to start Tahini\u2019s after reading Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc, the businessman who was instrumental in turning McDonald\u2019s into the successful global fast food corporation it is today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just fell in love with the whole concept (of franchising),\u201d Hamam said. \u201cI started reading more and more about the concept, because there\u2019s no How to Start a Franchise for Dummies book. I just had to learn from different people\u2019s stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
After establishing three Tahini\u2019s restaurants of his own, Hamam granted the first franchise in the first half of 2020 to a businessman in Whitby, Ont. <\/p>\n
Around the same time, he started a company called Alex Food Service to supply Tahini\u2019s locations in Southern Ontario, plus other restaurants specializing in Mediterranean cuisine and halal meat.<\/p>\n
Today, Hamam serves as chief executive officer at Tahini\u2019s. His younger brother and a cousin are partners in the business. <\/p>\n
The chain has more than 70 locations across Canada and last year the company opened its first U.S. restaurant in Rockford, Ill. At least three more Tahini\u2019s eateries are scheduled to open south of the border this year.<\/p>\n
Hamam credits the company\u2019s success to its unique menu and its strong social media presence. The chain\u2019s YouTube page has around 3.2 million subscribers, and more than one million people follow its TikTok account.<\/p>\n
Hamam describes the last eight years as \u201csurreal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe and my partners and my whole team have been working very hard in making this dream become a reality,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s finally becoming true and it\u2019s just an unbelievable emotion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hwang Lee owns Sushi Maru in Crestview Place. He says he\u2019s happy to have Tahini\u2019s in the shopping centre.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf more people are coming, they will see my restaurant also,\u201d said Lee, who started his business 20 years ago.<\/p>\n
Brenda Edge, who\u2019s owned and operated the Joey\u2019s Seafood location in the centre for more than 30 years, says she\u2019s happy to have a variety of restaurants in the area \u2014 including Tahini\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre (they) taking business away from me? I don\u2019t think so,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m gonna go try it out and see what it\u2019s like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Patel is already planning to open a second Tahini\u2019s restaurant in Winnipeg in the next three or four months. It will be located in the shopping centre at 1122 Henderson Hwy., near McLeod Avenue, he said.<\/p>\n
aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Aaron Epp Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Aaron produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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