Help Share The Spice Jammer's Recipes
Donation protected
Our names are Aly and Noren Essa. We help our mom operate an East African-Indian restaurant in Victoria BC, called the Spice Jammer Restaurant. Our parents originally opened Spice Jammer in 1991. Our dad loved food, loved eating, and more importantly loved people. He was loud, outgoing, and always ready to make a friend. Our mom has always been the magician behind the food, creating original recipes for the restaurant, and is one of the most selfless and hard-working people you will ever meet.
The restaurant was always our dad’s dream. When the restaurant first opened, he convinced our mom to help him “temporarily”. Temporary has turned into 29 years of working 7 days a week. In the beginning they were quite the pair, working together, living together, raising young kids, and making a new business work. The early years were fun for both me and my sister, as we met so many interesting people and there was always food around. We were far too young to understand the challenges they faced.
In 2004 our dad passed away suddenly, leaving a palpable void in our lives, in the business and the community. Gone was their time of teamwork and our mom bore the brunt of the responsibilities alone. For 15 more years our mom has tirelessly raised us and kept our dad’s dream alive. However, the time has come for us to transition to the next stage of our lives and give our mom the opportunity to enjoy retirement.
Those who know us, or have been to our restaurant, know that our passion is connecting people through food. Our customers have truly been the greatest part of the restaurant. Their love of our food is something special that has brought us together and introduced so many wonderful people into our lives. We are starting this go fund me campaign to help our mom write her cookbook. Our hope is that by sharing her recipes we can continue to bring joy to the community through our food, even after the restaurant has closed.
Thank you for taking the time to read our story. We feel blessed to have met so many amazing people through the restaurant and hope you can join us in keeping the legacy of The Spice Jammer alive. Thank you in advance for any support, and please do come and visit us before we close at the end of 2019.
www.spicejammer.com
Spice Jammer Facebook
Spice Jammer Instagram
The restaurant was always our dad’s dream. When the restaurant first opened, he convinced our mom to help him “temporarily”. Temporary has turned into 29 years of working 7 days a week. In the beginning they were quite the pair, working together, living together, raising young kids, and making a new business work. The early years were fun for both me and my sister, as we met so many interesting people and there was always food around. We were far too young to understand the challenges they faced.
In 2004 our dad passed away suddenly, leaving a palpable void in our lives, in the business and the community. Gone was their time of teamwork and our mom bore the brunt of the responsibilities alone. For 15 more years our mom has tirelessly raised us and kept our dad’s dream alive. However, the time has come for us to transition to the next stage of our lives and give our mom the opportunity to enjoy retirement.
Those who know us, or have been to our restaurant, know that our passion is connecting people through food. Our customers have truly been the greatest part of the restaurant. Their love of our food is something special that has brought us together and introduced so many wonderful people into our lives. We are starting this go fund me campaign to help our mom write her cookbook. Our hope is that by sharing her recipes we can continue to bring joy to the community through our food, even after the restaurant has closed.
Thank you for taking the time to read our story. We feel blessed to have met so many amazing people through the restaurant and hope you can join us in keeping the legacy of The Spice Jammer alive. Thank you in advance for any support, and please do come and visit us before we close at the end of 2019.
www.spicejammer.com
Spice Jammer Facebook
Spice Jammer Instagram
Organizer and beneficiary
Aly and Noren Essa
Organizer
Victoria, BC
Bilkiz Essa
Beneficiary
