Shawarma and community: Melrose Groceteria’s recipe for success

By Jean-Sebastien Marier, Renee Wei and Samia Madwar

Buddy and Helen Saikaly’s Melrose Groceteria may have closed its doors for the last time on Saturday, but Hintonburg residents haven’t seen the last of Helen’s cooking.

By popular demand, Helen will be putting together a cookbook of the dishes that made the couple’s convenience store a regular hangout.

“Anything she’s made, whether it was Lebanese or not, will be in that cookbook,” said the Saikalys’ daughter Dalal Larisey.

Some patrons have already requested copies.

“They’ve given us their number,” said Larisey. “They say, ‘When it’s out, please call me; I’d like one.’ I think we have about 20 of them!”

The Saikalys, who left Lebanon for Canada as newlyweds, started out with a novelty-variety shop, but converted it into a corner store soon after. Melrose became a groceteria when they added a kitchen in 1994, making dishes like tabouleh and hummus the talk of the town.

“Even though falafel was big, chicken shawarma was double that,” said Larisey of the groceteria’s signature dishes.

Over the weekend, Helen scrambled to prepare her catering service’s last orders.

“You can only do so much in that kitchen in one day,” said Larisey.

The store’s new owners will be converting it into a wood oven pizzeria, according to Larisey.

“These people could not have come at a more perfect time,” she said. “Just a couple of weeks ago, the sidewalk was completed on our side. The whole entire area has changed.”

Members of the Hintonburg community bade their farewell to the Saikalys at a party at the neighbouring Elmdale House Tavern on Friday, while others stopped by the following day for one last visit.  Watch offCentre’s video coverage here.