Popular Sudbury restaurant goes public with unhappiness with their location

Damascus Shawarma in Sudbury nearly closed after social media outcry over landlord disputes. The shop's owners cite numerous issues but vow to stay.

A well-known restaurant in Sudbury stirred up commotion on social media last week.

It started with a post on Facebook that turned into city-wide outrage. Damascus Shawarma said in the post that they have had enough and almost quit.

Ousama Qarqouz from Damascus Shawarma said they were overwhelmed by the support they received from the public.

“When we posted that, the whole community was behind us,” Qarqouz said.

“The whole community was supporting us, which has encouraged us to keep going.”

“One reason keeps me in Sudbury -- just one reason and (that is having the) community behind me,” added Hussein Qarqouz, a baker from Syria who brought his family here in 2016 when he was forced to flee civil war.

He eventually opened Damascus Shawarma, which has become a popular eatery in the city.

Frustrated with landlord

In the Facebook post, however, the Qarqouz family cited many reasons for their frustration, mainly disputes with their landlord that they said make them want to move.

The family says they can no longer tolerate their relationship with their landlord.

“How long can we put up with this?” said Ousama Qarqouz.

“My dad’s 50 years old and we came to this country because there’s freedom. We ran from war.”

The Qarqouz family said they work hard every day maintaining their family business.

“I work very hard ... 12 hours every day. I … never take a day off,” said Hussein.

“I don’t know (the) law and my (English) is not 100 per cent. (But) I am working very hard.”

CTV News reached out to P. J. Development Sudbury, one of four owners of the building where the restaurant is located. In collaboration with their lawyer, they gave us this statement:

“We’ve been in business for approximately 39 years, and our position is that this is a private matter between a landlord and a tenant that we are not prepared to discuss publicly.”

The family said they have 18 months left on their lease, but due to the added stress of business, it’s in their best interests to look for a new location.

We spoke to other store owners in the same strip mall, who told us they have not been mistreated by the four property owners.