Samir Rahim News Today

There is no top secret recipe behind the success of Taste for Hope. All that’s required is a handful of ingredients: benevolent chefs, generous sponsors, community-minded business leaders and hungry foodies working together toward the shared goal of reducing chronic homelessness. Already an Insider? Log in Get Instant Access to This Article Become an Ottawa Business Journal Insider and get immediate access to all of our Insider-only content and much more. ...

If a rumoured directive requiring federal civil servants to be in the office a minimum of three days a week comes to pass, it could be good news for downtown restaurant owners who have been scrambling to stay afloat in a downtown “ghost town.” 

As a few members step away at the end of the one-year cycle, the OBJ editorial advisory board welcomes four newcomers to the table.

Being a restaurant owner is harder than ever, but Amir Rahim, owner of Grounded Kitchen, said it’s worth navigating the challenges for the love of the work.

Some diners are experiencing what they call tip-flation and tip creep, and the debate over the role of tipping in our dining experiences continues.

A new innovative food service in Ottawa is getting a lot of attention for its futuristic take on take-out. Grounded Kitchen on Carling Avenue is taking automated self-service to the next level and it could be a solution to staffing shortages.

The Altea wellness and social club that is moving into the former Canadian Tire store on Carling Avenue could be the first of many businesses opting for a location near but not in the downtown core, market watchers say.

As more than 155,000 public-service employees took to the picket lines for the second day of a nationwide strike Thursday, a major business advocacy group is warning the work stoppage could be another blow to Ottawa merchants still trying to recover from the pandemic.

Some businesses are turning to automation as a way to address staffing shortages being felt across the country. It's a solution that could become more common, experts say.

The retail sector has been particularly hard hit by labour shortages in the aftermath of the pandemic. Read on