Most arrive as international students who feel a need to fit in, immerse themselves in North American culture, food and traditions, Amine, 24, said.
But after a few months of sampling local cuisine, the craving for familiar food returns, including an atmosphere they find relaxing, he said.
Amine, who’s originally from Cairo, Egypt, is a graduate of Cape Breton University with a bachelor of business administration degree. With a concentration in marketing, he and two partners are preparing to open a restaurant and lounge on Townsend Street in Sydney.
Called the Camel Lounge, it will offer food and drink native to the Middle East. Amine said it’s meant to be a comfortable atmosphere for Arab students who are new to Cape Breton, but miss parts of their life back home.
“Usually the first year here is hard because you’re not used to the culture, the weather or the food. You’re always getting homesick,” he said.
“The food we’re serving these people is going to be easier for us to help them. They won’t have to talk in English when they come here.”
Amine said wait staff has already been hired, but he continues to search for a chef. They’re hoping to open the lounge on the Canada Day weekend.
It’ll also be the only place in the province outside Halifax where a traditional hookah, or waterpipe, can be used by patrons.
The single or multi-stemmed instrument for smoking flavoured herbs passes smoke through a water basin before inhalation.
There will also be traditional beverages, but no liquor will be served, Amine said.
“Wherever there’s booze, there’s a lot of trouble, so we’re just going to stay away from it.”
He said opening the lounge started with a business plan created for one of his university courses in 2010. Before long, Amine and his friends were designing plans for a kitchen and a menu with authentic Middle Eastern delicacies.
The lounge will also cater to sports fans.
In the past, Amine said it’s been difficult to get local sports bars to air sporting events such as major soccer championships that are extremely popular outside North America.
“If you go to any sports bar around here, they’re watching hockey. I remember when Egypt was in African World Cup in 2009, we had to reserve the bar ... to watch the game,” he said.
“And it felt like a big deal because they didn’t have the channel, we had to go online, we had to get our TV. I think almost 40 people went to watch the final game.”
Amine started the process of immigrating through the Nova Scotia Nominee Program’s skilled worker stream following his graduation from CBU. He will receive his permanent resident card shortly.
Bringing new concepts and business ideas to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality is what Eileen Lannon Oldford likes to see.
The chief executive officer of the Cape Breton County Economic Development Authority is in the process of launching a newcomer program with a particular focus on attracting immigrants and international students to stay in Cape Breton.
As part of its research, the regional development authority tracked businesses established by newcomers to the island over the last two years.
It found 25 businesses were opened by immigrants by the end of 2011, and another 25 were in operation by expatriate Cape Bretoners who have returned to the area, Lannon Oldford said.
“Those 50 businesses we tracked created 207 jobs in Cape Breton. In a two-year period for people coming to our region to be involved in exploring a business opportunity, I think that’s a nugget we can build on because some of their markets are local, some are national and international.”
Amine said he expects to hire 13-15 employees. For Lannon Oldford, immigrants settling here to create employment is a positive sign, even as Cape Breton’s unemployment rate remains above 14 per cent.
She said the key to attracting newcomers, particularly young people, is to listen to what they’d like to see in a community.
“How do you attract young people to move here and spend time in the downtown? One strategy we looked at was what kind of living arrangements do they want. And there’s a certain age group within our youth who want that independent experience loft living.
“And if we put enough of them in the downtown core, they will pull the market so that the coffee shop has to stay open after eight o’clock, and nightlife has to be developed.
“So we’re exploring an option for a different type of living accommodations to see if we can research and develop a project that would have maybe up to 100-150 young people living in one of our downtown communities,” she said.
Only a short distance from downtown, Amine acknowledged there are major risks to opening a lounge and restaurant that focuses on a particular segment of the population.
But he said the Arab population is larger than some may think.
“(It) started with 40 guys and six or seven girls, and we all went to school over there at CBU. It was like one big family. All of us knew each other,” he said.
“We started here, and we stayed because our community is already here. There’s like 500 of us now and we know every single person.
“Even if you were to go out West or go back home to Egypt, you want to come back here to Sydney to visit the rest of the crew. It’s like our home away from home.”
He said his chances of business success are much improved in Sydney as compared to bigger centres such as Halifax and Montreal, which have substantially larger Middle Eastern communities.
The partners have invested large amounts of their own money in the enterprise so far, because they were having problems qualifying for a business loan, Amine said, although they were grateful to receive advice and suggestions from a local businessperson.
Amine intends to continue living in Sydney River as long as the business is open. He said he does have dreams of one day obtaining his MBA, which may take him off-island.
“We’re investing our own money in this business, so we’re investing into the community,” he said.
“International students bring a lot of money to town from renting houses, buying cars, buying food.”
His philosophy is it’s time to contribute back to the community now that they’ve received a Canadian education.
“Since we came here, we have to be part of the community. It’s like they offer something and we offer something back.”
