This market is a taste of home for some, a unique treat for others

• Kelowna’s only Arabic market
• Future hopes of expansion

At the foot of the Landmark 5 building sits a unique store filled with products hard to find outside of many nations around the globe.

In ’N Out Market is Kelowna’s only Arabic market selling goods imported from Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Morocco, and other middle eastern and Mediterranean countries.

“To come and see a product from your home [country] or to see a product that is written in Arabic, honestly, you feel like you’re home,” co-owner and manager Ammar Bin Halabi, told Kelowna10.

He, along with his brother Mohammed and common-law partner Maria Limas, are business students at Okanagan College who decided to put their education to the test, opening the market during the pandemic.

Both Ammar and Mohammed specialize in management and Limas is getting her marketing degree. Mohammed has finished school, while Ammar and Limas are in their final year.

Unique desserts, candy, grains, spices, coffees, and other Middle Eastern goods are a welcome sight for many in the Kelowna Arabic community.

“I do remember one Lebanese guy who was looking for one juice. It was Bonjus juice. It was like from his childhood in Lebanon. When he saw it, he’s like ‘I can’t believe it,’” Limas said.

“You know when you see a kid in an adult, like the face of a kid in an adult? He just wanted to drink it right now.”

When they took over the store it, it was just empty shelves. Limas explained how they had to slowly build up their inventory to what it is today.

Because of the unique nature of their goods, acquiring certain products can be a challenge. Many of their shipments come from Montreal and Toronto and it takes time to get here, which can stress expiry dates.

Due to recent natural disasters damaging sections of the Coquihalla, their Vancouver shipments are also delayed, and, in some cases, more expensive.

What is in stock; specialty coffees, there to provide customers with complimentary beverages, like the Turkish coffee given to Kelowna10.

The brew in the small cup and saucer was accompanied by a Turkish delight sweet to contrast the taste of the strong spiced drink.

The group hope to expand the Arabic market in the future to include a butcher and deli to serve hot food.