Windsor's newcomers flock to Wyandotte Town Centre for a taste of home
'They come everyday for the fresh bread ... everyone back home is used to buying fresh bread for breakfast'
Walking down a length of Wyandotte Street East, the smells of beef kabob and exotic spices fill the air — scents some say remind them of neighbourhoods in the Middle East.
Inside the Windsor Market at 671 Wyandotte Street East, it's the smell of fresh pita bread that give patrons a sense of nostalgia.
"They come everyday for the fresh bread for breakfast. Especially on the weekend. It's crazy. Because everyone back home is used to buying fresh bread for breakfast," said Merna Bollis, who works at the supermarket owned by her father.
Hani Bollis opened Windsor Market in 2009. He wanted the supermarket to bring a piece of home to the growing Middle-Eastern population in Windsor.
"He just liked the feeling of being at home and providing for everybody who wants that feeling still, and have the variety that we have back home," said his daughter Merna.
It's a business that has been thriving year after year. Bollis attributes much of their success to the growing Arabic population, that has been reflected in the 2016 Census report.
Between 2011 and 2016, about 20 per cent of immigrants in the Windsor-Essex region came from Iraq — the largest group represented in the survey. The second largest group were from Syria, at 10.5 per cent.
"The Arabic community has grown tremendously in Windsor," said Bollis. "There's a lot of Arabic people. It's kind of like the second language spoken here."
We're getting a lot of other cultures that are getting familiar with the Arabic cultures and getting introduced to the products and the fresh bread.- Mohammad Basem Aldehneh, owner of Le Ballon
In fact, the Arabic language is on the rise as well. Nearly five per cent of the total population of Windsor's census metropolitan area listed Arabic as their mother tongue in the 2016 — which is 30 per cent higher from 2011.
The diversity of the neighbourhood is part of the reason why Mohammad Basem Aldehneh, owner of Le Ballon, opened his restaurant at 567 Wyandotte Street East.
"It's a busy area. Many Arabic people live around Wyandotte," Aldehneh said.
While the Arabic community is booming in the Wyandotte Town Centre, Aldehneh said he's noticing more non-Middle Eastern people trying his food.
Bollis has also noticed the diversity of shoppers at Windsor Market.
"We're getting a lot of other cultures that are getting familiar with the Arabic cultures and getting introduced to the products and the fresh bread," he said. "It seems they really like that idea."
Melissa Nakhavoly