Business Sense

My company has been in trouble all year. At first, it was a few late pay-cheques. But since August, they have been paying employees at only around 50%. A call to the Ministry of Labour would likely shut it all down. But the rank-and-file has decided to give the execs time to turn it around. It's a bit astonishing that the CEO knows enough deep-pocket friends that can offer short-term loans to keep it limping along while trying to land some multi-million dollar investments. There are people who for various reasons cannot accept the reduced pay after a while. So there has been a steady exodus for last few months. This Thursday, there was yet another group lunch for a departing colleague.

Since I was already in Ottawa visiting family and couldn't attend, I decided to have my own eat-out lunch at Laheeb. This Middle-Eastern grill took over last summer from a medical marijuana dispensary called Dr. Green Thumb. Looking over the menu, I ordered a Mixed Mashawi meal ($12.75) and a side-order of pilaf rice ($6). Being a new business, they enticed me with free home-made samples of hummus, tabouleh, and garlic sauce. It was a large meal with 4 skewers of beef cubes, shish tawook (chicken breast), and ground beef and chicken kababs. They were all freshly grilled and were great. The rice and dips were also tasty. The fries were on the starchy side instead of crunchy. Only the pita bread was mediocre.

All in all, it was comparable in price to the Subway next door yet more substantial and of better quality. Yet that sandwich franchise was full while this place had no customers. Unfortunately, I don't think Laheeb will be around by next summer. First, it's on a cursed stretch of road. No businesses seem to thrive anywhere along Montreal Road, but between Ogilvie and St. Laurent are mostly empty store-fronts. A few attempts including The Garlic King and Kukulkan fizzled after a few years. Second, it's not clear what they sell from their signage. Only the sharp-sighted can spot the tiny "charcoal grill" descriptor nestled near the inscrutable Laheeb name and a stylized skewer. Finally, you can't tell from the menu that you getting a great deal for your meal.

They need to emphasize that, for around the same price as Subway and less than Pilos down the street, you're getting a big entrée. And that meal is piled with BBQ meat, a familiar sight for even the most sheltered Canadian, and not some "exotic fare". Perhaps a sample plate in the display window alongside the fresh kababs to drive the point home. And change that sign.