THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 02 2023
THE RIVER VIEW
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“I LOVE MY CUSTOMERS” S
Salah Elby has expanded into Halal Mediterranean cuisine at KoolFood on Hillsborough Road.
Even four-legged music lovers enjoyed the summer concerts in Riverview’s Caseley Park.
alah Elbey, who came to Canada in 2007 from Tunisia as a student at the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC), never doubted what he wanted to do. “When I finished my schooling I took different jobs, but only to figure out what kind of business I wanted to go into. I always wanted to be a businessman, to have my own business. Always, I wanted to have a business myself.” Elbey came to NBCC, he says, because after researching a number of options he thought NBCC would give him the greatest opportunity to find work after graduation. “NBCC was the right fit for me.” He comes from Menzel Bouzelfa in the Nabeul Governorate in Tunisia, which is fabled for its orange trees. That background even led him to Michaud Farms in Bouctouche for a time after graduation, but his desire to be an entre-
preneur outweighed his desire to be an agriculturalist. He ultimately settled on a Freddie’s Pizza and Donair franchise in Riverview and has expanded into Halal Mediterranean cuisine with KoolFood next door. “People from the other side (of the Atlantic) want that food, they miss that ‘back home’ food. The cuisine is primarily from three countries in the north of Africa, the food is Moroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian.” Elbey is letting his customers help shape the menu. Several items are already available, but he says he is open to feedback from his customers on what they would like to add. He would like to see KoolFood eventually become a franchise in its own right. Kool derives from the Arabic takul, meaning “to eat,” and of course plays on the idea of “being cool” in English.
Elbey sees the appeal of Halal cuisine continuing to grow. “I want to go far with that name.” And KoolFood offers what may be a first in Riverview and in Greater Moncton; first served in France in the early 2000s and hence nicknamed French Tacos, these items are in fact more similar to burritos or quesadillas. They feature meat, cheese, sauce, vegetables, and French Fries in a flour tortilla. Elbey’s secret to success? It all comes back to the way he is asking his customers to help shape the menu at KoolFood. “I love my customers. Customers make a business work. Business these days is not easy. You need to be organized, to watch your costs, but you have to know your customers. We’re doing business in a small town with people you see every day, every week – they are the most important thing.”
Linda G. Manship captured this autumn colours scene in Salisbury.
