Shawarma House officially opened in Yellowknife on Nov. 29, bringing with it a taste of the Middle East and India.

For Zakaria Boukdich, co-owner of the restaurant along with Maamer Hamada, the decision to open in the NWT capital was a pretty easy one, in many respects.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of people here, they鈥檙e familiar with shawarma, either from down south or all over the world,鈥� said Boukdich. 鈥淢aybe they鈥檝e travelled to the Middle East or India, where shawarma is very known and very popular.

鈥淪o there鈥檚 a lot of people that are missing that,鈥� said Boukdich. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 like a trip to the Middle East when they eat our shawarma. Our spices are typically from Syria, so that鈥檚 what makes our service special.鈥�

While there are other dishes that residents can choose from, Boukdich confirmed that shawarma is the focus of the Shawarma House.

鈥淪hawarma is the main dish on our menu,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ides are like salads, baba ganoush 鈥� baba ganoush is typically like a dip-in, eggplants, the tabbouleh salad. (The salad) is 100 per cent vegan and made with parsley and onion, chopped onions and chopped tomatoes.鈥�

Located at 5006 Franklin Ave, Shawarma House came to fruition through an agreement with an individual who Boukdich now considers a good friend.

鈥淚t was just a click of chance,鈥� said Boukdich. 鈥淚 met a guy and I was looking for a place. He passed me his number and everything and I called him right away鈥� I鈥檓 glad that I know someone like him. He helped me a lot.鈥�

Mustaja Alhajjy, who came to Yellowknife with his wife from Syria, looks after the eatery鈥檚 food preparation.

The restaurant met with an initial rush of interest, selling out of chicken shawarma and a few other ingredients on its opening day and had to close earlier than normal. Normally, patrons can expect Shawarma House to be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Monday to Saturday.

For Boukdich, the decision to launch the business during the Covid-19 pandemic was the most troubling part.

鈥淲e were waiting for so long to just open our restaurant,鈥� said Boukdich. 鈥淓very three months we鈥檙e delaying it. Then I was like, 鈥榊ou know what, I鈥檒l just open it and let鈥檚 go for it.鈥� It doesn鈥檛 matter, whatever will happen, it will happen. If it鈥檚 meant to be, it鈥檚 meant to be. If the pandemic hits us hard, yeah, unfortunately, we will close. Everything is going good for now.鈥�

The health department and the city have been quite helpful in getting the operation up and running, he added.

鈥淭he health department, they helped us a lot, they provided us with a report, we can open for 40 people,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he city also helped us a lot, they were like 鈥榃e鈥檙e so happy that you鈥檙e opening a shawarma place here.鈥� Everybody鈥檚 encouraging us.鈥�