Yasser Youssef, Owner of Fig Mediterranean Deli, is gearing up to get his business through a
potential second wave. Despite being an essential service, he reflects on his business’ own set of
challenges when the pandemic first hit.

One of those challenges being competition with larger chain retail stores to receive product.
“There was some difficulty getting products in because of high demand.” Youssef said. “So, the
big importers, they would rather sell to a large company than a small outfit like ours. So, we
were last on the list.”

Youssef also says another obstacle was the delays in shipping caused by situations such as the
Port of Montreal strike that lasted from Aug. 10 to Aug. 21 and occurred due to a labour dispute
causing shipments to be backlogged for weeks even after an agreement was reached. At the Port
of Vancouver, a lack of staffing created delays in shipments arriving.

“A friend of mine had a shipment come in and it sat on the port for probably a month before it
got released,” Youssef said. “Then they still charged him $25,000 for sitting in the port of
Vancouver for a month, which is absolutely disgusting because they claimed there wasn’t
enough staff to inspect them and release the containers. So I would call that logistics.”

Some changes the deli implemented including changing the physical layout of the store to
accommodate social distancing requirements, adding plexiglass barriers to protect staff and
adding signage to direct flow of traffic. Getting access to hand sanitizer was one of the first
hurdles they had to overcome in the first weeks of shutdown.

“I'm pretty sure that you know the story is I couldn't find hand sanitizer anywhere in BC
probably in the first few weeks,” Youssef said. “So just looking back at that period,
I’m stocking up on it.”

In addition to becoming well suited to the changes needed to take place within his business,
Youssef also credits his customers for educating themselves on protocols and going as far as to
calling an inspector when adjustments needed to be made.

Youssef is also stocking up on product that went up in popularity during the lockdown. “I did
recognize a trend during the first period of the shutdown,” he said. “People were stocking up on
foods like beans, rice, canned tomatoes, tomato sauces, pasta, anything that doesn't spoil quickly.
And these are like great things to have around the house. So given their long shelf life, and their
nutritional value, I am stocking up on beans and olives and tomatoes and olive oil and of course,
rice. Yes, we are preparing.”

Despite not applying for benefits from the government due to his business overcoming these
challenges, Youssef still holds the Canadian government in high esteem.

“I believe the government did a superb job on making all funds available for businesses, for
individuals,” he said, “I think the Canadian government is one of a kind in this world. I don't
think anybody else enjoys what we've enjoyed here.”