As part of the Portraits of merchants & professionals of Côte-des-Neiges project, we invited Zeineb Khalfallah (@zeineb_conscience on Instagram) to join us in our visit of 11 businesses of the SDC Côte-des-Neiges who have participated in the project.
Meet Amine and Anas | Portraits of merchants and professionals of Côte-des-Neiges
Learn more about your merchants and professionals of the Côte-des-Neiges district! // Let’s meet with : Amine Chaouki and Anas Hatim, Co-Owners of Pizza Show
The first thing that struck us when we arrived at Pizza Show is its retro and fancy decor! If you stop by for a pizza at Anas Hatim and Amine Chaouki’s restaurant, you’ll probably be tempted to take a photo in front of their wall. Vintage 90’s style paintings hang there, giving the place an authentic and warm atmosphere.
As we sat down to interview the two young entrepreneurs, the smell of pizza dough, melted cheese and tomato sauce made us travel to Italy.
Anas and Amine are more than just partners. Both originally from Morocco, they knew each other from a young age. They both ended up moving to Canada to study and then joined forces to develop their culinary project.
During his studies, Anas worked as a deliveryman at Pizza Show before becoming the owner. He therefore knows the founding family who passed on their know-how and work culture to him.
It was in 2014 that Anas and Amine bought the business. They refreshed the place by touching up the decoration and working on its digital branding.
Therefore, they invested in online services to make their pizzas accessible to all Montrealers.
However, the two friends and associates wanted to honor the know-how of the former owners. In order to do so, they kept the same recipes that were created since 1995.
“We kept the same recipes as the previous owners with some creative touches from time to time… in order to adapt our menu to the needs of the customers,” Anas confided.
“We have loyal customers who have been coming to us for years, but we also constantly have new ones. In Côte-des-Neiges, there is a lot of movement. New students move in every year. And with new clients, comes new needs! That’s why we try to innovate all the time,” added Amine.
To adapt to the needs of their customers, the two restaurateurs add new options to their menu every year without touching the recipes that have been passed down from the previous generation. This is how the duo innovates while staying authentic.
For me Côte-des-Neiges is :
Rainbow (Anas)
Movement (Amine)
Writer-journalist: Zeineb Khalfallah
Photographer: Gaelle Leroyer
Artistic direction : Félicia Balzano (SDC Côte-des-Neiges
Complete the experience by visiting the free exhibition on Promenade Jean-Brillant from September 8th to December 5th, 2022. Info: here
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
Given the great success of its project «Portraits of Merchants and Professionals of Côte-des-Neiges» in 2021, the SDC Côte-des-Neiges is proud to present the second edition of the initiative through an exhibition as well as interviews. This project is aimed at putting residents in touch with businesses on the territory of the Société de développement commercial (SDC) Côte-des-Neiges. Through a series of portraits capturing the essence of 11 businesses, meet 17 owners and managers of local businesses. This social and cultural project is intended to be a real encounter with the human behind the professional. In this second edition, you will discover women and men, young professionals and experienced entrepreneurs, all from different cultures and backgrounds, providing a wide range of products and services. What do they all have in common? Their love for Côte-des-Neiges. Discover the exhibition on the Promenade Jean-Brillant and extend the experience online thanks to the heartfelt interviews carried out with each one of them.
Under the artistic direction of Félicia Balzano, general manager of the SDC Côte-des-Neiges, this project is an initiative of the SDC Côte-des-Neiges and made possible with the collaboration of the Maison de la culture CDN and the borough CDN- NDG.