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July 31, 2009
Stop to eat at Donair Place
Israeli-owned restaurant is on the principal road to Cultus Lake.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
It's only one word, "shwarma," written in Hebrew, but if it weren't there, you might just drive by the Donair Place and Coffee Shop in Chilliwack. And that would be a shame because, not only is the food delicious, but the owners – Albert and Efrat Tabi – are delightful.
"We just came four years ago to Canada and we were one year in Richmond," Albert Tabi told the Independent during a break between customers. High housing prices induced the Israeli couple to look further afield to set up their new home and business. "We didn't know anything about the big difference between here and over there," said Tabi about Richmond versus Chilliwack. "We said, OK, let's take the car. For us, we said, 100 kilometres from Vancouver, it's not a big deal. But, maybe it's a big deal."
Though he and his wife still have to work hard, seven days a week, Tabi said it was more difficult at the beginning. "After a few months, we realized, nobody came from here," he said. "We were excited about the food, because everything is home made, it's the best food and everything ... [but] after three months, we decided to change everything."
They initially opened a more Mediterranean-style restaurant, with spicy food and vegetables such as eggplant, which were unfamiliar to most people living in the area. They "decided to change everything to take out," he said. "Pita bread, donair, shwarma, falafel, everything that people can take and go and, since then, everything changed. Now we have our customers from everywhere, from Vancouver, from Mission, 50 percent from Abbotsford."
Efrat Tabi explained that Donair's location, on Yarrow Central Road, is along a main route for people travelling from Abbotsford to Chilliwack and vice versa and that it's the principal road to Cultus Lake.
Since the change to a more limited menu, she said, "Now we get more construction people, more people who just pass by and want to take something and just go. The people that go to the lake, they don't want to sit and have a meal and they want to order something for the evening. It's just, you know, word spread and people from outside know about us and are coming more."
While business is improving, "it's still not the neighborhood restaurant we dreamed about," she said, explaining that, in Israel, every community has a neighborhood restaurant in which the locals hang out.
"People come because the prices are reasonable, the food is mostly home made, good food, so people are happy that somebody comes and opens such a thing," said her husband.
"Two years ago, we made a big sign," continued Efrat Tabi. The couple thought they would attract the travellers driving by and the locals. Though they weren't that successful in capturing those markets, they did attract some Israelis because the sign advertised bourekas, a popular food in Israel. "Albert said, 'Why don't we do a Hebrew sign?' So, last summer, we put 'shwarma' [in Hebrew] and we also put an ad in Yossi Links and oh, big time!... Every week, we get Israeli people from Vancouver."
And they appreciate the visitors. There was another Hebrew-speaking family in the area, she said, but they moved to the United States a year ago.
The Tabis have a 14-year-old daughter, Dor, and she and they feel a bit isolated in Chilliwack, said the Tabis. They came to Canada from a small community near Kfar Saba. In Israel, they had a catering business. As well, Efrat Tabi was a teacher, managing a day-care centre, and her husband was an artist, though he also has worked as a teacher. They left Israel, she said, because there is "more opportunity here. Canada is the only country that allows immigration by a procedure.... If you go to the States or something, you need to have a job offer. In Canada, you have a point system.... If you meet the expectation, it's good."
While the couple sometimes wonders whether they should have stayed in Richmond, they noted that there are positive aspects to living in Chilliwack.
"We like the nature," said Efrat Tabi. "When we have an opportunity, we go around. I mean, it's beautiful. This is something that you can't see in the city, right?"
She later added, "When we applied [to emigrate] this is what we planned to do. We wanted something that wouldn't take a lot of time from the family.... Still, it's a lot of work."
The Donair Place and Coffee Shop is located at Yarrow Station, 42375 Yarrow Central Rd. The phone number is 604-823-0111.
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