Halifax brothers Tony and Peter Nahas used their parents’ three restaurants to develop the Mezza Lebanese Kitchen franchiser model, taking years to develop a standardized menu, level of service, look and feel regardless of location.Supplied
Tony Nahas grew up in the 1990s working with his three siblings at their parents’ food-court kiosk in Halifax Shopping Centre serving customers, chopping lettuce or shaving chicken shawarma from the spit for pita wraps. They’d help before and after school and even during their lunch break.
“By the time the bell rang, we’d be running back with a sandwich to eat before we’d get back to class,” he says. “And after school, we’d run back to then relieve our parents.”
The food court success paved the way for his father Elias to acquire a pizza spot downtown, then a full-service, sit-down Lebanese restaurant. Those three eateries laid the foundation for Tony and his brother Peter to found national franchiser Mezza Lebanese Kitchen, which today has 24 locations across Canada and growing, as well as three in Dubai.
“It must be in the genes,” says Elias, 76, who first immigrated to Halifax in 1967 from Zgharta, a northern city in Lebanon. He met his wife Hala, also Lebanese, in Nova Scotia and started a family. Through the 1970s Elias and his brothers owned grocery stores in the province but after the recession in the early 1980s, they closed the supermarkets and returned to Lebanon.
Elias moved his family back to Halifax in 1990, looking to stay for good and to start another business.
“‘People have to eat,’ I thought,” says Elias of his decision to purchase that first kiosk in the food court, “and I believed if you have good food and service, you’ll do well.”
He and Hala worked tirelessly, building the venture to a level where they could step away in 2012 and draw on its income for retirement, Peter says. “With the business until that point, my parents operated under a whatever-it-takes mentality.”
Elias asked his sons to take over, surmising they’d make a good team. Tony’s entire employment history had been in the trenches of the restaurants’ operations, often working into the wee hours at the downtown site, and he had spearheaded the acquisition of the third location in the 2000s. Peter was about to graduate from Dalhousie University with a master’s in public administration, bringing strong administrative skills and a vision for growth.
Elias Nahas, circa 1990, in his food-court kiosk at the Halifax Shopping Centre that was his first restaurant purchase.Supplied
The parents’ “scrappy mindset” is common among founding families of successful restaurant businesses, says Liz Watson, Vancouver-based CEO of Watson Board Advisors that specializes in guiding family enterprises. The next generation often inherits that mentality as their parents’ natural entrepreneurial moxie blends with nurturing their children within the venture.
“So when the kids have the opportunity to lead, they often look to put their stamp on it,” she says.
Elias taught his sons to grow the enterprise as opportunities arose — he would purchase eateries that came up for sale when he saw potential. “He would always ask, ‘What’s around it? What’s drawing the people?’” says Tony, 45, who is president and CEO. The brothers still apply that lesson as they forge a new direction as a franchiser.
Ms. Watson cautions that such organic succession whereby the next generation naturally flows from the founding parents can be risky. Yet children who grow up deeply involved in their elders’ enterprise can succeed when they develop their own vision and take the “time and effort to really answer the question, ‘What do you do to have a successful transition?’” she says.
The brothers recognized that the novelty of Middle Eastern cuisine on the East Coast in the early days was what buoyed the business, not North American fare such as the fries and subs they also served. They pivoted to focus only on Lebanese food and rebranded the three existing restaurants under the Mezza Lebanese Kitchen banner, embracing a quick-service model similar to Chipotle Mexican Grill, says Peter, 38, whose title is chief concept officer.
They determined a franchise structure would best facilitate their growth aspirations — offering the same menu with a consistent standard of service, look and feel no matter the site.
“We tested it first on ourselves, treating every location as a franchise to smooth out kinks,” Tony says.
The first true franchise debuted in 2017 and the new model proved successful: Mezza now has restaurants in every Maritime province. An opening in Calgary last year became its first foray westward, with more launches planned for 2026 — 13 total across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Mezza established a 15,000-square-foot production centre in Halifax early last year to mass produce ingredients such as pickled turnips, marinated shawarma chicken and hummus to be shipped across Canada.
“The plan is to keep growing for decades to come,” Peter says.
Inevitably, the question will arise of whether the third generation will one day assume control — though the answer is still years away since Peter’s and Tony’s children are still young.
“I’d love for my kids to take over,” Tony says. “They love the food and could eat there every day.”
Left to right: Tony Nahas, his wife Amanda, father Elias, mother Hala and brother Peter in May, 2025, at the 35th anniversary celebration of the Mezza Lebanese Kitchen franchiser that grew from three separate restaurants that the parents bought.Supplied
While there are no formal succession plans, Elias and Hala are shareholders with their children — their oldest daughter Laura manages the Dubai locations with occasional help from their other daughter, Raquel, a school principal. The aim is to keep Mezza family-owned.
Ms. Watson says the family has time to map out the next transition, though planning should commence sooner rather than later. “They can start to invest the next generation, teaching their kids about the business in age-appropriate ways.”
Such family enterprises require good governance structures, she adds, including a family council to build consensus around the company vision. “At the heart of that is really solidifying why they operate the business together,” she says.
For now, the philosophy of hard work and togetherness propel Mezza Lebanese Kitchen forward under Tony and Peter, validating their father’s original decision to hand them the reins.
“I was very pleased, happy and proud,” Elias says.
Have a suggestion of a Canadian multigenerational family business for this regular series? E-mail smallbiz@globeandmail.com.