Having moved from Afghanistan to Alberta, Mohammad Yasin Nazari and his family are proud to have built a chain of Afghan grocery stores. Shaheen Grocery and Bakery, named after Nazari’s youngest son, now has three locations: two in Edmonton and one in Calgary. Packed with unique products including their special Kabuli naan, Shaheen has become a hub for Afghan food and tradition in western Canada.
In 2002, Mohammad, his wife, and their three kids arrived in Edmonton via Pakistan with little money. In 2003, Mohammed and his eldest son Ramin acquired a convenience store with financial help from a family member who was already settled in Canada.
“We were obviously new to Canada and English wasn’t a strong suit for my parents,” said Benafsha Nazari, Mohammad’s youngest child.
In 2007, the Nazari family opened the first Shaheen-branded grocery store in Calgary, dedicated to imported goods from Asia. Expanding while running their other store was challenging because of the language barrier, explained Nazari.
The road to Canada also had challenges. At 18, Mohammad served a mandatory two-year term at a military base in Kabul. His wife, Seema, was pregnant with their first child, Ramin. “They would just get people from the streets and send them into military service,” said Mohammad.
In 1994, his family’s business was destroyed amid the Afghan Civil War. Mohammad moved his family in search of safety and stability. “Canada was always a dream,” said Ramin, who was 20 at the time. “I said, ‘When I come to Canada, I will not waste any time and I will work really hard.’”
Like many businesses, the stores have felt the impact of COVID-19. They were busy when the lockdown began in March 2020—“Everybody was stocking up,” said Benafsha—but business has since slowed down.
Despite their business challenges, Mohammad and his family have found success. They now employ 19 people. One of their secrets? A unique Kabuli naan. “Nobody was making this naan [in Alberta], and we thought there would be a market because we were missing it in our own house,” said Ramin.
Now, Mohammad is focussing on the newest store in Edmonton, which houses a bakery, grocery store and butcher. His son Matin is heavily involved. In July 2020, they also opened Shaheen Rugs in Calgary to sell classic and modern rugs from Turkey.
Ramin says the success has come from his family’s hard work: “The main thing I always say is the family worked together. That was the biggest success recipe we had.”
