Reza Akbari had barely sat down at the Small Business BC awards before he heard Premier Christy Clark say the name of his restaurant.
After months of Shiraz Café and Restaurant appearing in the top based on voter’s choice, Prince George’s Persian restaurant had won the Premier's People's Choice Award.
“It was very astonishing,” said the University of Northern B.C. grad who opened Shiraz in 2012.
He’s since earned accolades in the community - most recently as business person of the year and as one of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce Top 40 under 40, but Akbari said the Vancouver gala was the biggest for his small business yet.
“Everyone was screaming,” said Akbari, as he walked to the stage at the Thursday night gala in Vancouver, packed with several hundred guests. “It was a great honour.”
He’d only had a few moments to think what he might say, but he said he started with a quote he often uses by author Maya Angelou to explain his approach: 'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'
It’s the theme of his master’s thesis at UNBC, but it’s also more than that, he said.
“This is the whole business core value of Shiraz, from the point we open the door,” he said, with customers. “They will always remember the feeling that they gain from you.”
The Iranian-born immigrant said he spoke of his roots and wanting to offer a different cultural flavour to his new home.
“I wanted to do something different, bring the taste of my childhood and add to the diversity of the community,” he said.
“Shiraz is a Canadian success story and shows any immigrant can come and contribute positively.”
Tackling a niche market can be interesting, he said, not only because the supply channels are fewer and further away but because the cuisine can be so different from what people are used to.
“You’re offering a new product ... at the same time you are educating the customer,” he said. “Running a small business generally is quite challenging.”
Small Business BC said the 13th annual event was the most competitive yet with a record-breaking 535 nominations.
Shiraz earned the top honour by getting the highest number of votes province-wide and Akbari said the title will be good for the restaurant’s reputation.
“When I started the only real person who would believe it would succeed was myself, but being recognized (at the provincial level) is definitely an achievement by the community.”
