By Jordan Ferraro
“It takes a community to build a burger”, muses Lowertown resident and entrepreneur, Donald El Batal, who recently launched his newest enterprise with business partner Jocelain Frem, at the site of the old Tim Horton’s at King Edward and St. Patrick streets.
This marks a culinary and marketing departure from their other Ottawa success story, Le Suq. While the others locations are stores where customers can enter and browse, the King Edward location is a totally black, windowless structure containing a state-of-the-art kitchen that serves food for take-out or delivery that can only be ordered on-line..
Hidden within the mysterious black façade at 360 St. Patrick Street is an ecologically sensitive and green-minded staff intent on keeping the product healthy, locally sourced, hormone free, non-genetically modified, and, most importantly, affordably delicious.
Their business model was inspired by a recent trip to Dubai. At their burger and fries emporium, Hushh.ca, you can order all-natural burgers of 100% Canadian beef, chicken, or a plant-based option with a side order of fat-free air fries.
The plant-based burger challenges the taste buds to detect the difference. The patty of your choice is applied to buns fresh-baked on premises, then garnished with an array of lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, red onions, and hint of piquant.
There are also combos with a burger, fries, freshly tossed coleslaw and a beverage. For dessert, Hushh offers Nutella brioche buns and chocolate caramel cake. There is also a small breakfast menu,
Orders can be placed and paid for online at Hushh.ca, or through Facebook and Instagram, with pick-up at the location or delivery to your home.
El Batal is a vibrant member of the Lowertown community who intends to engage his home turf in a myriad of social, cultural, and philanthropic endeavours.
One proposal is to face his newly painted black virtual restaurant with a mural by a local artist as an inspired nod to new energy transforming a revitalized ByWard Market. This might be a good move given that the building is a blackboard just begging to be tagged with graffiti.
For those wondering what was going on in that black box, we can now say “Ottawa’s best kept secret is out.”