Habibiz owner defiant in face of vandalism: ‘We’re not leaving’

The owner of a Portage Avenue hookah lounge and restaurant says he remains defiant after vandals smashed the front windows early Sunday and left behind a racist note.

Habibiz Café owner Ali Zeid said he was left feeling conflicted after an individual, caught on camera just before 5 a.m., damaged the front of his business at 1373 Portage Ave.

The note, which Zeid shared on the café’s Instagram alongside still images from the security footage, read: “Leave our country terrorist. F— off.”

“I don’t know where they want me to go,” Zeid said. “I was born at the Grace Hospital. We’re not leaving. We’re staying. We’re open today. Nothing is going to stop us.”

Security camera footage reviewed by the Free Press shows a hooded individual with their face covered pacing along the sidewalk before pulling an object from their pocket and repeatedly smashing the café’s front windows, then fleeing.

By Sunday afternoon, Zeid — who is of Palestinian heritage and has operated the café for five years — had boarded up the two holes left in the glass.

“It’s a bit colder in here,” he said, attempting to make light of the damage. “Honestly, I don’t know how I am feeling right now. My whole life, we’ve been in ‘Sunny’ St. James. We lived just down this street (pointing north down a nearby street).”

“Anger? One hundred per cent. Sad? A thousand per cent. My mom’s crying, telling me to close, ‘Don’t go (to work). We don’t need this.’ I can’t do that. I can’t let them win. They can do this a million more times. I will open a million more times.”

Winnipeg police confirmed they are investigating the incident, with the major crimes unit assigned to the case. Const. Claude Chancy said it is too early to determine whether the vandalism constitutes a hate crime.

Zeid said the attack followed a confrontation last week in the alley behind his business, where he was told to leave the country, that his car would be towed and that he did not belong in Canada. He also referenced vandalism at Congregation Shaarey Zadek last Friday.

“It’s hate,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who it is. It’s just somebody hating on somebody.”

Despite the incident, Zeid said the outpouring of support on Sunday was overwhelming.

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“That’s why we’re open right now,” he said, describing the café’s clientele as equal parts Jewish, Punjabi and Ukrainian, Russian, Indian and Indigenous.

“They come here every day. This is the place where we always say when you come in, you find culture and culture also finds you when you come in here.”

Zeid said he plans to replace the damaged windows with stronger glass and is considering installing shutters for added protection.

“It is what it is,” he said. “As we say, alhamdulillah. God is great.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.