‘We’ve tried our best’: Family-run Downtown Vancouver restaurant closing after 15 years

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — While many Vancouver restaurants are welcoming the loosening of restrictions in Phase 2 of BC’s restart plan, the changes didn’t come soon enough for one beloved, family-run cafe on Dunsmuir Street.

The Pita Wrap Cafe, which has been in operation for 15 years, is closing for good this week due to a combination of factors, including the pandemic, high rent, and the age of the owners.

Najat Younan owns the shop with her husband, and says it’s hard to believe it’s closing after so many years of work.

“You know how you leave your family? It’s like that. Anybody I talk to, I start crying,” she tells NEWS1130 through tears. “Really, it’s hard, like, I’m here from morning till 8:30 [p.m.] every day.”

She says the decision to close was incredibly difficult .

“We’ve tried our best, because this was our dream,” she says. “From Iraq, we immigrated to Canada, we came in 1999, and it was our dream to have a restaurant.”

She says they were closed for a lengthy period of time when COVID-19 hit, and it’s been a major struggle ever since.

“We lost lots of money, but we still have to pay rent, and our rent is expensive here,” she says.

RELATED: New report shows how COVID-19 hit Downtown Vancouver’s economy

Businesses in Vancouver’s downtown core have been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A halt to tourism including a ban on cruise ships, COVID-19-related restrictions on restaurants and bars, and office buildings emptied out as workers were sent home — all these factors combined to deal a significant blow to the local economy

The 2020 State Of Downtown Report, put out by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) last month, quantifies some of the effects changes ushered in by the pandemic. At least 84 street-level businesses were shuttered last year, 45 per cent of which were independent businesses. The report also notes restaurants accounted for nearly half of all business closures.

RELATED: 80% of restaurants losing money, barely breaking even: Restaurants Canada

Noujan says she will miss her customers, who have become like a second family to her.

“People here in Canada, they are nice, because if you don’t understand anything, you ask them, and they explain,” she says. “Everyone that comes to our restaurant, they help us a lot.”

Some customers have been leaving their email addresses upon learning the restaurant will shutter, in case she and her husband open up another operation in the future.

While Younan isn’t entirely sure what’s going to come next, but she is excited about the possibility of having more free time to spend with her family.

“My youngest one is graduating this year. I want to see my kids. And even I didn’t see my mom for seven years,” she says.

Even with the closure, Younan says she is grateful for the opportunities the family has had.

“We are blessed, we are lucky we came to Canada, and my kids have been educated here,” she says.

The final day for Pita Wrap Cafe is Friday, June 18th.

With files from Lisa Steacy

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