When a business has “legendary” right in its name, it’s either far too confident to succeed or it’s so good that it actually lives up to its name and becomes a fixture of a community.
Shelby’s Legendary Shawarma, now open at 493 Christina Street North in Sarnia, certainly has the potential to be legendary. Shelby’s is a fast-casual shawarma chain with 26 locations across Ontario and Quebec, with its newest location here in Sarnia celebrating its grand opening on Aug. 4.
“It’s a completely different concept. It’s fun and engaging, and it’s all happening in a restaurant atmosphere,” says marketing manager Fathy Alaloul. The positive vibes, smiling faces and busy kitchen scene combine to create freshly made wraps and bowls in as little as six minutes.
Is shawarma new to you? “We have food for you every day of the week,” says Shawarma Man, who also goes by Yasser Ali, Shelby’s Co-Founder and director of marketing. “Whether you want to indulge, want something light, or want something delicious, we have something for you. We wouldn’t put it on the menu if it wasn’t good. Whatever you try here, you’ll enjoy it.”
Favourites include their signature wraps, like the bacon caesar shawarma wrap, and a more basic option, like the beef wrap made with fresh saj bread tightly wrapped around beef shawarma, fries, pickles, tomatoes, sumac onions, tahini, hummus and sauce.
Meats are 100% certified hand-slaughtered Halal, and 90% of the ingredients are locally sourced. Farmers within 100 kilometres are sought after to produce the ingredients for the menu items.
“My friend, every community deserves shawarma” enthusiastically says Shawarma Man. “We have that in our mission. We want to take over every town. Global domination my friend! Whenever you think of shawarma, you will think of us.”
“What put us on the map is the shawarma boutine,” Shawarma Man continues. “The people are loving it; it’s like a party in your mouth.” The “boutine” is a dish of fries with your choice of protein topped with Shelby’s boutine sauce, chipotle, garlic, feta cheese and parsley.
Shawarma Man started Shelby’s in a trailer with Yazan El-Shalabi (co-founder and CEO) in 2014 with a food trailer in Lambeth, Ontario. In 2015, they grew to a restaurant, ditched the mobile food outlet and went full steam ahead by opening locations across Ontario.
“We have become quite a sensation online, but as much as we like to serve the legendary shawarma we like to give back to our communities here and our communities abroad,” says Shawarma Man. “Every city we go to we want to understand what our local needs are. We want to feed our first responders and support local food banks.”
Shelby’s has a strong focus on supporting families and feeding communities.
The Sarnia Shelby’s location is owned by the husband-and-wife team Hafiz Ashraf and Asma Shaukat. They had seen Shelby’s grow and jumped at the opportunity to move to Sarnia and be a part of the growing brand. Having been open for almost two months, Ashraf says that the welcome Shelby’s has received here has been extraordinary.
“We are really appreciative of the community’s response,” says Ashraf. To meet demand, they have hired 22 employees, with 10–12 working at all times.
Stop by the new restaurant at 493 Christina Street North in Sarnia, enjoy the vibes, taste the Middle Eastern flavours and grow an appreciation for this ever-growing culinary brand. Shelby’s is certainly a “legendary” name that will be on the tips of tongues for years to come.
Oh, and if you weren’t aware, ketchup is for fries, not shawarma. So, just by asking for ketchup may result in having to sign a waiver or a swift flipflop to the temple.
This story was made possible by our Community Leaders Program partner.
Thank you to Community Futures Lambton for helping to expand local news coverage in Lambton County. Learn more