Taste Of Egypt Reopens In Uptown Saint John
SAINT JOHN – A popular uptown restaurant reopened today, five weeks after a flood forced it to temporarily shut down.
The owners of Taste of Egypt on King Street appreciate the hard work done by the Hickey Brothers to get the restaurant up and running again so quickly after drains froze on the roof and flooded the dining room of the restaurant.
“We are so lucky to have such a great local business here in the city,” Paula Radwan, co-owner of Taste Of Egypt, said in a release. “With all of the water damage that has happened in recent weeks, they are very busy. We are so fortunate that they understand how critical it was for us to get up and running.”
The renovations are three weeks ahead of schedule, so Taste of Egypt will be open for Chop Chop Week, which begins today and continues until March 3.
Co-owner and Executive Chef Ehab Radwan is back from Egypt to help re-open the restaurant. He had taken advantage of the opportunity to see his family there for the first time in nine years.
“There is something positive that comes out of every bad situation,” he said. “I got to see my family. My mom and dad, of course, were so happy. It has been very difficult for me to get away since we have had such a challenge getting chefs in the restaurant.”
He said they’re expecting two new chefs to arrive from B.C. this week to give him some support, and hopefully give him the chance to see his parents again sometime soon.
“They are originally from Morocco and we were really happy to recruit them to move to Saint John,” he said. “I have hopes that I will be able to go see my parents next time while the restaurant is up and running.”
The restaurant will host a grand reopening Tuesday at lunch.