A taste of home

Elmwood

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This article was published 21/02/2024 (788 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a new market for Middle Eastern food in northeast Winnipeg.

Afamia Market, located at 379 Henderson Hwy., opened on Feb. 11. The Halal-specialist shop stocks canned and pickled goods, spices, desserts, coffee, cheese, fresh meat and much more, with an eye to supplying Winnipeg’s growing Middle Eastern community with a taste of home.

“Our community, it’s growing very fast here in Winnipeg,” said Khaled Varaket, one of the owners of Afamia Market. “We felt like, in this area, we don’t have like a grocery like this kind. That was our idea, to be the first one in this area, to give that service to our community and all the people in Elmwood, the Kildonans, all this area. Hopefully we are going to give good service for the people.”

Offering a wide selection of goods from Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, and other Middle Eastern countries is important for Varaket, who moved to Winnipeg six years ago.

“You cannot find these (products and services) in stores like the Superstores,” he said. “We have a halal butcher, fresh meat. We do it day by day, every day new, fresh meat, in small amounts. Just to be fresh every day.”

Along with staples, Varaket said it’s also important to stock sweets and desserts, not least because of the nostalgia these products can trigger.

“We have desserts, all coming from what we grow up with in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon,” he said. “It’s something about our memories when we were kids, so it’s nice to have those here in Canada. It’s very tasty, for everybody, not just kids.”

Afamia also sells fresh-roasted coffee and spiced snacks made fresh, as well as traditional kitchen and dining ware.

“ Lots of our neighbours were coming here, offering help…

Although it is early days for the shop, Varaket said the reception to date has been very positive.

“Our community was very supportive. When we advertised we’re going to open, everybody was here, trying to help us. And we are very happy and proud of that,” he said. “Also, lots of our neighbours were coming here, offering help. We appreciate that. We are very happy to be here.”

Afamia Market is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, email afamiamarket2024@gmail.com or call 204-663-5829.