Boustan Toronto
Food & Drink

Boustan has opened its first location in Toronto, but does Toronto deserve it?

by Lorraine Carpenter

After a rapid expansion here in Montreal, the unstoppable shawarma chain has moved down the 401 to the godforsaken Toronto suburb of Scarborough.

Montreal shawarma joint Boustan has been slinging pitas and garlic potatoes for nearly 40 years, mostly from its longtime location at 2020A Crescent Street. Following the restaurant’s 2012 sale by original owner Imad Smaidi, a Lebanese immigrant who founded the place in 1986, a chain of Boustan restaurants began to grow in Montreal, rapidly expanding since 2017 to nearly 40 locations today. Now Toronto has its first Boustan, albeit in the godforsaken suburb of Scarborough, with 7 to 10 more locations expected to open in the GTA this year alone.

The number of Montrealers who’ve moved to Toronto is, of course, countless. We don’t begrudge belle province expats the opportunity to grab a taste of home, but does Toronto really deserve another Montreal institution that will inevitably become known by clueless 416 locals as a Toronto thing? Do Leafs fans deserve extra garlic sauce? Do U of T bros deserve to dine on a Creation afterhours? Does Doug Ford deserve the ultimate shawarma? Hard no.

Boustan has opened its first location in Toronto — but do they deserve it?

For more on Boustan, please visit the restaurant’s website.

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Posted in Food & Drink

by Lorraine Carpenter

Editor in chief
Lorraine Carpenter was born in Montreal and studied communications and journalism at Concordia. She co-founded Cult MTL in 2012 following 12 years at the now-defunct Montreal alt weekly the Mirror, where she worked in editorial as copy editor and music editor. She’s dedicated to supporting the cultural scene in Montreal.