After being closed for nearly four months, Ray’s Lebanese Cuisine is back in business.
Ray’s was forced to close its doors in the spring, after the owners of the Scotia Square Mall location in Halifax gave Ray an ultimatum - pay more rent and renovate, or leave.
After 31 years, Ray’s did close, leaving its loyal customers devastated.
“The whole thing seemed a little unfortunate for all involved and all the local businesses,” says customer Marc Pinet.
However, the popular eatery reopened in its new location in Dartmouth on Thursday.
“It probably does me some good, after being in the same place for 31 years. I should do some change,” says owner Ray Khatter.
Hundreds of customers lined up for Ray’s grand reopening, which he says is a testament to the loyalty of his customers and the power of social media.
“Word of mouth you know, especially on internet, on computer, on Facebook, they all know about it, you know,” says Khatter.
He admits he was concerned his business would take a hit because it is no longer located downtown, but with the success of his grand reopening, the future of Ray’s looks bright.
Khatter attributes his success to supporters like Nancy Hayden, who started a petition to keep Ray’s in Scotia Square Mall.
“It was sad seeing him being forced out of Scotia Square, and I thought I’d try to help change that,” says Hayden.
She collected more than 5,000 signatures, and Khatter says that support motivated him to keep his business alive and his customers are grateful he did.
“I like his grape leaves and falafel the best,” says Elias Jebailey. “He also makes good shawarma.”
With files from CTV's Alyse Hand
