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![\"SHANNON](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4371800_web1_32456766_YUSUF-ABDULREHMAN_2.JPG\")
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SHANNON VANRAES \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Yusuf Abdulrehman and his family have been a fixture at Winnipeg\u2019s oldest halal shop, Halal Meat Centre, at 206 Maryland St., for 36 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here every day \u2026 I don\u2019t take any day off,\u201d Yusuf said. \u201cIt\u2019s about time. I should let it go, let somebody else enjoy and benefit this place that I\u2019ve been enjoying and benefiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
He declined to share his age.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s planning to relax, he said, and then start a new venture \u2014 perhaps in sales. After all, he has the \u201csame spirit\u201d as when he launched his store, during a time of sparse halal options in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
Such foods are prepared under Qur\u2019an guidelines. For example, they can\u2019t have alcohol or traces of pork, including gelatin.<\/p>\n
Sana Mahboob beelines to the baklava. Her parents introduced her to the shop as a child, after her family immigrated from Pakistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt made you feel at home in a new country,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019d walk in, you\u2019re greeted with the aroma of fresh snacks and sweets and spices.\u201d<\/p>\n
And a smile from Uncle Yusuf, Mahboob added.<\/p>\n
It was a shock for her to learn \u2014 upon becoming an adult and individual customer \u2014 that the place wasn\u2019t called \u201cUncle Yusuf\u2019s store\u201d or \u201cYusuf\u2019s,\u201d like her parents said.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s gone for prayer beads, samosa-style bites and advice.<\/p>\n
Advice was on offer Monday afternoon: a customer sat in a chair near the check-out counter; a staff member leaned over to confirm, \u201cOK, so you want to make yellow custard?\u201d<\/p>\n
Halal Meat Centre became a site of backroom weddings, among other local community-building initiatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father and my mother were kind of pillars in there, without them intending to make social change. They just wanted to do good things by people,\u201d said Rehman Abdulrehman, one of Yusuf and Roshanara\u2019s three children.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It\u2019s) recognizing that sometimes taking care of just yourself doesn\u2019t always get you ahead and that the best way to move ahead is together as a community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yusuf estimates his shop has seen 10 to 12 weddings. Customers would ask if he knew someone that officiates (he does). When money was tight, couples would tie the knot in a room inside his office.<\/p>\n
His favourite part of store ownership is \u201ceverything,\u201d while, simultaneously, each customer interaction is the greatest challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a challenge for you to make him happy, to make sure he finds what he\u2019s looking for and he walks out of the store satisfied,\u201d said Yusuf, who speaks at least seven languages. \u201cThen the word of mouth goes around.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shop hasn\u2019t been without struggle: after the 9\/11 terror attacks in the U.S. in 2001, a Canadian Security Intelligence Service vehicle was parked nearby and the family faced increased racism, Rehman said. There have been break-ins and violent threats.<\/p>\n
The site now competes with big-box retailers who\u2019ve increased their halal options, Yusuf added.<\/p>\n
Still, there are regular walk-in customers and a swath of businesses \u2014 restaurants, wedding venues \u2014 who tap Halal Meat Centre for food. As Canada\u2019s population has diversified, so has the shop\u2019s customer base, the Abdulrehmans said.<\/p>\n
The three sons have medical backgrounds and established careers.<\/p>\n
North Atlas Commercial Real Estate is handling the sale. It listed the property and business on Friday, according to Jonah Levine, a partner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s sort of a classic Winnipeg, classic Canadian story where (Yusuf) started this business and he and his family really put a lot of effort in,\u201d Levine said. \u201cIt\u2019s an iconic institution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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Mian Hameed, president of the Manitoba Muslim Seniors Association, noted Winnipeg now has several halal stores. The Maryland hub offers a range from many countries, he said.<\/p>\n
(Yusuf had listed Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, among others.)<\/p>\n
Mahboob said the Abdulrehmans\u2019 ownership \u201cwill be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s \u2026 a happy retirement,\u201d she said. \u201cThey have done so much for the community that this is such a well-earned, well-deserved retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n
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Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Gabrielle 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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