Greg Ewasiuk opened his first Holy Falafel Restaurant in Gloucester Industrial Estates five and a half years ago. He said he was inspired while working with the Earl’s Restaurant chain in the 1990s to apply the chain’s focus on fresh, natural “real food” to a new restaurant featuring Lebanese-style donairs.
“Everything is made from scratch,” said Ewasiuk of Holy Falafel’s recipe for success. “We’ve essentially modernized the Middle Eastern donair, brought it upscale, with quality that customers know they can depend on.”
“It’s worked out really well (at Gloucester), we’ve had customers lined up since we opened.” He likens it to the Chipotle restaurant chain, which also offers freshly-made quality fast foods and has grown to be a major franchise chain.
Ewasiuk has now franchised the Gloucester Holy Falafel Restaurant and is presently working on opening two more Holy Falafel Restaurants, in the downtown areas of Langley and Abbotsford. One will be a corporate restaurant and the other a franchise, and Ewasiuk will move into a head office role now that he has worked out the operational success of Holy Falafel in Aldergrove.