By Sam Tinajero-Alvarado
W
hen Jinan, Mohamad, Ali, Mohsen, Rowaida and Samir El-Hage opened their cafe, Mocha Mirage, in Centretown, they were looking for a way to stay in touch with their Lebanese roots. To bring this connection to life in a meaningful way, they decided on shifting the cafe’s operating hours from 8am to 8pm, to 8am to 2am from February 19 until the end of Ramadan. This unique choice for a cafe was the way the family was able to connect with their cultural history.
Jinan, who emigrated to Canada to study at University of Ottawa, felt the difference in community compared to Lebanon. “I didn’t really put much effort into building my community back home, it was just sort of inherent. It felt like I inherited it from my grandparents and my parents,” she said.
Jinan’s family has had a long history with Canada, specifically through their father, Samir.
After the war in Lebanon, Samir came to Canada to study, earning his Masters in Engineering. He spent some time working and establishing a life, but he felt something was still missing. That sense of community was difficult to find, and so, Samir decided to return to Lebanon and build a family of three boys and a girl.
However much he loved Lebanon, Samir was convinced to return to Canada with his family in tow upon Jinan’s request. While familiar with the country, the El-Hages’ echoed the feeling Jinan experienced when she first arrived in Ottawa — the loss of belonging, of community.
Community is what Mocha Mirage was all about and with the celebration of Ramadan underway, the El-Hage family found the perfect opportunity to blend their culture with their cafe.
The idea to significantly change their operating hours came quite naturally to the family when they realized the gap in services being offered by cafes in Ottawa. “In Lebanon, businesses usually stay open late. And during Ramadan, they stay open extra late. It’s common to see businesses open until 5am. You’ll walk down the streets in Lebanon, and it’s bustling with people at like three or four in the morning, so it’s nice,” mentioned Jinan.
Jinan’s family wasn’t hoping to completely transform the coffee shop landscape of Ottawa, rather, they were looking to recreate a piece of home.
“We missed having a spot that was open after iftar, somewhere people could go after breaking their fast, somewhere to come together and have a cup of coffee. A lot of people who are fasting during the day don’t have much bandwidth to participate in social activities or seeing friends. So their only opportunity to do that is after breaking fast.”
Jinan describes how they’ve seen a rush of customers around the 8 or 9pm mark, people coming from the mosque or after breaking their fast. The cafe turns into a place of gathering for family and friends, many customers milling in and out until Mocha Mirage’s closing time of 2am.
She explains how “it’s nice to see that [their] decision was something the community really wanted.”
Although the shift presents difficulties like burnout from the long hours, the El-Hage family is happy to see how they can cater to people from all walks of life.
From early morning government workers to mid-day students to late night Ramadan practitioners, Jinan sees the value of providing unique service hours. “It’s worth it, seeing people have fun, enjoy their time here and us being able to get involved is really fun!”
Despite the decision being about Ramadan, the positive effects of the schedule shift are much bigger than that. “We have seen the benefits of having our space open late, for the community and for us as well. This business brought my family together and it anchors us to the families who share a part of their day in our cafe.”
When asked about whether it would be nice to see other restaurants and cafes follow suit, Jinan turned hopeful and introspective. “I would love to see more of this. I would love to see more inclusion of other religions and other celebratory events that people are a part of,” she said.
“In the case of Ramadan, we live in a very diverse city, and we have a large Muslim population who fast during this time. So it’s important that we have more accessibility practices for people of other religions. The same way we accommodate vegans and vegetarians, it would be wonderful to see this type of consideration and awareness for others.”
It’s evident that awareness is a big part of the Mocha Mirage cafe.
According to Jinan, many of their customers discovered the spot by coming across a few viral videos on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. “I did have to do a bit of convincing with my parents, but ultimately, I made them see that it would be worth it. People love being able to relate to other people online, they love to see a story. And we have a story: it’s a family business, we’re here doing it as a family,” she explained.
With a bold decision to film her brother standing outside the cafe with a sign that read ‘My dad just opened a cafe. Come check it out’, Jinan created a personable and, at times humorous, narrative that would incite curiosity and bring customers to their doorstep.
“Everyone’s way of receiving news these days is often through social media. So I think it’s crucial for businesses to have that presence!”
So if you’re wanting to indulge in a space that values community and culture, visit Mocha Mirage, Monday through Sunday.
Unsure of what to order? Jinan recommends their sun dried tomato and goat cheese sandwich paired with a biscoff latte and topped off with a sfouf pastry.
