‘My goal is to be special’
Big Kahuna Sub and Middle Eastern Grocery serves up something different
Hussain Ftil, owner of Big Kahuna Sub on Grand Lake Road, is proud to say all of his food and products are halal and hopes the word spreads about his unusual offerings.
Halal means the food adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Koran.
“My goal is to be special, to give customers something different,” he explains.
Ftil came to Cape Breton from Saudi Arabia in 2011 to study business at Cape Breton University. After graduating last May, he set in motion his plans to open a restaurant and Middle Eastern grocery.
Last fall, the doors opened and while business has been good he says the location sometimes makes it difficult for people to find him.
“The (store) sign has to be here in front and not where you turn, so when you are driving you sometimes miss the turn to get to us,” he points out.
However, Ftil is confident the more people try his food and his products, the more people will know exactly where to find him.
“I see my customers keep coming back again and again. They really like the food I have here,” Ftil says. “I have different sandwiches and lamb which is really hard to find at restaurants around here.”
Ftil is very proud of his menu, especially the build your own plate item where you customize your meal based on what is available that day.
“The size is big. It is a full plate,” he says, smiling. “The big man will be full and the small man will be full. But the small man might eat that plate for two days.”
The grocery inside Big Kahuna Sub is small but full of items that are often difficult to find in Cape Breton.
“I have halal food, for the Muslims,” he says explaining he only uses suppliers who follow the guidelines needed for food to be officially halal.
“I have Iranian stuff, I have Arabic tea and Arabic coffee. I have cheeses that are hard to find too,” he enthuses. “Everything that is hard to find in Cape Breton, I have it here.”
Ftil learned to cook from his mother when he was a young even though in Saudi Arabia it isn’t common for boys to learn this. Ftil says he was very interested in it and would hang out in the kitchen so his mother taught him.
Then his mother started getting him to cook some family meals and eventually he started cooking for friends.
Big Kahuna Sub is open Monday to Saturday and Ftil recommends checking out their Facebook page for their daily specials. Delivery is available as well as catering with advance notice. Their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/Big-Kahuna-Sub and their phone number is 902-270-2211. Big Kahuna Sub is located at 455 Grand Lake Road.