Milton is a veritable banquet of halal butcher shops. But friends Muhannad Maksousa and Rateeb Durrah -- who consider each other family -- aim to make their recently-opened store, Kawthar Halal Meat and Market, a cut above the rest.
The two Syrian Canadians hope to do so by offering a taste of Syrian home-cooked meals because, as Maksousa says, “we feel that we can only offer our customers what we would eat ourselves.”
What this means for their customers is an array of fresh meats marinated in traditional Mediterranean flavours. Meats like shawarma, shish taouk and kebabs. The partners prepare sample sizes in their air fryer for customers to try before they buy.
They always had a plan to go into business together. Durrah felt that should be a butcher shop because of his experience working in grocery stores, including a French grocery chain in Bahrain -- where he met Maksousa -- and the meat section of a Mississauga Sobeys.
“I have good experience with Canadian stores and good experience with mixing Arabic and European styles,” Durrah said.
They combined Durrah’s idea for a butcher shop with traditional Syrian recipes to form Kawthar Halal Meat and Market. The name Kawthar comes from a river that Muslims believe can be found in Paradise.
Using traditional Syrian recipes has earned the 9149 Derry Rd. shop some widespread appeal in its first three months of operation.
“In Milton, there is no Halal Arabic shop,” Maksousa said in differentiating Kawthar from the rest.
The shop also offers more traditional butcher selections like New York style, sirloin and rib-eye steaks, as well as a variety of veal and mutton cuts.
But the shop isn’t only stocked with meat. It can also act as a grocery store, with its aisles lined with ingredients from the Middle East, the Subcontinent and non-immigrant communities.
Arab and South Asian cultures do share some items that can be found in the shop like lentils and chickpeas as well as spices like cardamom and turmeric.
Certain types of pickles familiar to shawarma lovers, bulgur wheat, fava and lima beans – less common in South Asian foods – appeal to Middle Eastern tastes. But an entire aisle, dubbed the desi corner, has everything South Asian need in their food.
Various snacks and drinks that one would find in any kind of shop round out the offerings, ensuring the shops broad appeal.
More information about the family-run shop can be found on their website and Instagram.