Soufi's restaurant closes its doors in Toronto for good after five years
After five years of servicing the Toronto community, Syrian restaurant Soufi’s has closed its doors for good.
The beloved restaurant shared news of its closure in an Instagram post and thanked its customers for their support throughout the years.
“We’re sad to announce that, after 5 years of serving you, we’ll be closing our doors this Sunday, April 3rd, at 6 PM. This experience has been extremely humbling, challenging and rewarding for every member of our family,” read the post.
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“We’ve enjoyed sharing our food, music and laughs with you and feel so honoured to have represented our Syrian culture in Toronto and the Queen West community.”
Back in 2019, Soufi’s faced instances of hate messages and death threats after protestors outside of a People’s Party of Canada event with Leader Maxime Bernier blocked an 85-year-old woman from entering.
An apology was posted to Soufi’s Facebook page at the time, and they shared that one of those protestors was a family member.
“We would like to formally apologize for the unfortunate incident that occurred with the elderly woman,” said the post, according to CBC. “Alaa regrets that he did not step aside and/or stand up against the act of verbal abuse.”
The eatery made the decision to permanently close; however, the CEO of Paramount Fine Foods, Mohamad Fakih, offered to help Soufi’s reopen.
Shortly after their announcement, Soufi’s welcomed customers inside once again and was operated under management from Paramount Fine Foods for a short while.
The Alsoufi family reportedly took time away to recuperate from the backlash and returned to operate the business once they were ready.
Despite the struggles faced, the Alsoufi family leaves behind their labour of love with pride and appreciation for the Toronto community.
“We are so very grateful to our customers, staff and Toronto community for supporting us over the years. We appreciate you!”
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