The Community EditionSHAWERMA PLUS: lOCAL, AWARD-WINNING
Waterloo’s Shawerma Plus
is growing its fanbase across
Ontario with the opening of two
restaurants in Mississauga and
one in Port Elgin.
Founded in 2012 by Asem
Ghabra and Baraat Khudeir,
Shawerma Plus started with
a space on King St. N. before
moving to its current 1,000
square foot space in University
Plaza in 2019. The family opened
its second location at 1111
Westmount Rd. E. in 2016.
While other shawarma chains
have pursued aggressive
provincial and national
expansions, Jawad Ghabra, cofounder and partner at Shawerma
Plus, said the brand is taking
time to make sure each new
restaurant meets their standards.
“We opened a few locations,
and then we pulled the brake a
bit to see what needs to be fixed
or changed. The more locations
we open, there is always a
chance that we’re going to miss
something with the quality,
experience or culture that we
bring,” Jawad said.
The idea of planning the
expansion of his family’s business
is something Jawad said he never
thought he would be doing when
his father first told him about the
idea for a shawarma restaurant in
Jawad was living in Dubai,
newly married and expecting his
first child when he received a call
from his father who was living in
Waterloo.
“He’s always been passionate
about food and catered on
the side. He and my mom are
amazing cooks. But I told him
I didn’t recommend it because
the success rate is very low.
Restaurants are risky. They didn’t
have the network either. But he
wasn’t going to listen to any of us
telling him to slow down or stop,”
he said.
Jawad said his father was set on
opening a shawarma restaurant
and spent months perfecting his
recipe and looking for a space.
The family is originally from
Syria, and Jawad said his father
had lost much of his savings
when the family fled the country.
“He put all his remaining
savings into the building and
opening of the restaurant. That
was a crazy risk, because that’s
everything. There’s nothing left
on the table,” Jawad said.
Ghabra flew to Waterloo to help
with the branding, website and
the build-out of the restaurant.
After returning to Dubai, the
restaurant opened and, while
sales were good, Asem told Jawad
that he was quickly running out
of capital and did not see the
restaurant being open for more
than a few months.
With a young family and
growing career in Dubai, Jawad
knew that he could not let his
father’s dream fail. Without being
asked, he sent his father most of
his savings.
“He asked why I did it, and I
told him that I could tell from his
voice that he didn’t want to give
up. Six months down the line, he
called back and said that money
was gone. I genuinely remember
this moment. I didn’t want them
to close. I didn’t want to get into
the food business. But I told my
wife, ‘I’m going to quit my job
and we’re gonna go to Canada’,”
he said.
Jawad and his family landed in
Waterloo in 2013, and he quickly
got to work at the restaurant,
just not in the way he thought
he would.
“We arrived at the restaurant
and he said, ‘Jawad, go do the
dishes and clean the washrooms’,”
Jawad said.
After giving up his life in
Dubai, Jawad was stunned and
asked why. His father gave him
a lesson that would shape how
Jawad would lead the restaurant
from its original location to the
growing franchise it is today.
“He said, ‘Let me ask you this,
do you know how to make a
shawarma? Do you know how to
handle the register? Why are we
even debating? Just go.’ I went.
That’s how I started,” he said.
“It’s been a crazy journey, and
the journey is just not mine. This
is the journey myself, my family,
a lot of our employees, and
partners have taken,” Jawad said.
schneckenhaus
Alexander J. Stein
Dining and Cooking
Tour Japan
Ali Clarke 
The Mendocino Voice
The Good News Network: Positive Stories 24/7
