SYDNEY, N.S. — Nagy Abdou is looking to be part of the change to get a new “vibe” happening in downtown Sydney.
The entrepreneur is the managing partner of the newly opened 7 by 7 restaurant and The Parlour Sweet House on Charlotte Street.
Housed in the former long-time home of the Maple Leaf restaurant and more recently, Khufu Restaurant and Bakery, Abdou hosted a soft opening on Aug. 27.
But it’s been full steam ahead since then, catering to a steady lunch crowd during the week.
It’s the supper hour traffic that’s been lagging, mostly due to businesses closing for the day at 5 p.m.
Abdou wants to see a change in attitude and to bring about a more vibrant social scene in the evenings in the downtown.
“Mostly we’re focusing on lunchtime,” he said.
“But we’re trying to get more traffic in downtown. What we’re trying to do is extend our hours of operation as much as we can.”
He said they’re working on improving the ambiance for meals later on in the day.
“It’s going to be a relaxing environment, low light, having candles, soft music.”
7 by 7 restaurant & The Parlour Sweet House
- Located at 272 Charlotte St., Sydney
- Offers Canadian, Middle Eastern, Asian cuisine
- Hours: Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Search for ‘7 by 7 restaurant’ and ‘The Parlour Sweet House’ on Facebook
There have been a few new businesses open that have hours that extend into the evening and that points to a promising change, said Michelle Wilson, executive director of the Sydney Downtown Development Association.
“We definitely have heard from the public that they would like to spend more time in the downtown core,” she said.
“We’ve got Fired Creations, Boysenberry and now Freshii and 7 by 7, and of course some of our other restaurants that are already open in the evening. We’re definitely encouraging that and looking at more ways that we can help support them.”
Without providing specifics, Wilson said the association will be looking at “opportunities” over the next couple of years to support the businesses in meeting their objectives.
For now, the 7 by 7 restaurant with its 14 employees – three of whom are chefs – is keeping its doors open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. to see how they can get more people to show up in the evenings after the workday is done.
The menu offers seven dishes that cost $7 each – it’s the meaning behind the restaurant’s name. Some of those include a chicken shawarma wrap, curried beef wrap, smoked meat sandwich and a beef noodle bowl.
And next door at The Parlour, it’s being advertising as a place to “chill,” said Abdou, and spend time with friends chatting, studying and then snacking on sweet treats items like cheesecake, ice cream and milkshakes.
Abdou, 23, whose term as Cape Breton University students’ union vice-president ended in May, will graduate with a bachelor of business administration degree in November.
It’s not Abdou’s first foray into a local business venture.
Originally from the city of Kom Hamada, Egypt, he partnered with Mykola Kushnir of Ukraine to establish the company, CB Eats. The online food ordering app provides Cape Bretoners with a selection of local restaurants to choose from for delivery service.
Last fall, Kushnir and Abdou partnered with another local company, Click2Order, to put their idea into motion.
In operating a restaurant, Abdou said a lot of thought went into the pricing of menu items and most importantly, with the help of a consulting chef from Halifax, determined what recipes would make it on the menu.
In a deeply competitive industry, it was essential to stand out from the crowd and keeping prices low is one tactic.
“A lunch package for only $7 or even under 10 bucks, especially when you work and want to save money, you don’t want to spend too much money, you need something quick with good quality,” Abdou said.
“We needed to find a competitive advantage for us. We have to be cost-efficient. We are trying to cut out the costs as much as we can while we’re still delivering good quality for the downtown community and Sydney overall.”
A lover of the game of soccer, Abdou was hit with an injury before his planned try-out for a spot on the CBU Caper men’s soccer team, which currently holds the first-place ranking in the country.
His restaurant now sponsors the team along with the Sydney Academy Wildcats football team. It's a corporate social responsibility that Abdou takes seriously given the opportunities and welcoming environment he’s been afforded in Cape Breton.
“It’s about us giving back to the community. And I believe Cape Breton Island has loads of talent especially in the sports field. There’s lots to develop so those young players go on to compete at a high level and take the island to the next level,” he said.
Twitter: @cbpost_chris
