Boustan restaurant serves dinner at downtown Montreal men's shelter

Boustan chain expands – by feeding homeless The Montreal Lebanese chain found new purpose this year, at a shelter and in other deliveries for the needy.

Montreal — Lebanese chicken, rice, garlic potatoes and salad with pickled beets.

That’s the menu for Thursday night dinner at the Maison du Père, a men’s shelter in downtown Montreal. The meal comes courtesy of the city’s own Boustan restaurant.

Boustan CEO Emad Saad said his company was able to expand during the pandemic, opening up four new locations around the city.

He told CTV News giving back is part of the business model.

"Prosperity is done by sharing, it's not keeping everything to yourself,” he said. “It's always being part of the community, part of the people and growing together."

Most holiday seasons, Boustan trades menu items for non-perishable food donations to Moisson Montreal, a local food bank, but concerns over the virus made that impossible this year.

Instead, hundreds of meals will be hand-delivered to people in need.

At Maison du Père, physical distancing protocols made for less volunteer support. Staff say a free meal is a welcome gesture.

"Oh my god they enjoy it so much,” said Director Francois Boissy. “It's different food than we make here at Maison du Père and it's very good."