N.S. brothers opening the eyes of many to Lebanese culture 1 Shawarma at a time – Halifax [Video]

At a Mezza Lebanese Kitchen restaurant, Tony Nahas demonstrates slicing from a spit of roasting chicken much as his father did — with a razor-sharp knife dropping the aromatic meat from grill to gathering tray.

But then he switches to what he calls the “newer generation’s” tool: a humming, electric carver that can create Shawarma servings more efficiently for hungry lunchtime customers.

It’s the essentially the same style of Middle Eastern meat, marinated in a secret sauce created in the family restaurant 35 years ago, but produced for more customers. Like the ambitions of the younger generation of Lebanese Nova Scotian entrepreneurs, the business plans of the restaurant are expanding into faster and larger horizons.

“For our parents it was just putting food on the (restaurant) table. That’s what mattered. For us, it’s how do we increase the scale of that,” said Peter Nahas, Tony’s younger brother and business partner.

Across …