Chorney-Booth: Heliopolis Social Café is all about co-existence and community

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The idea of a third place – a physical space to spend time in that isn’t your home or workplace – has long been popular in Europe and other places in the world and the concept is gaining traction in North America, especially with so many of us working at home. When Rana Allam and Bishoy Beshara moved to Canada from Cairo several years ago, they noticed there weren’t a lot of public places for people to just hang out without the expectation for them to continue to spend money on food or drinks to earn the right to stay.

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Allam, who edited a newspaper in Egypt, leaving once her home country became unsafe for journalists, was particularly taken with the idea of creating a social hub where guests and staff could co-exist as equals, people could stay as long as they like, building a community along the way. The result is the Heliopolis Social Café, a beautiful and calming lounge in the Grain Exchange Building.

Heliopolis – named after the ancient Egyptian city – is in the unit best described as “the original Divino” (though it’s been plenty of places since then). The room has been completely transformed, with the retro wood making way for calming neutral hues, a cozy fireplace, and plush seating. It doesn’t look like a restaurant and presents more like an unusually chic living room, with photographs from around the world adorning the walls and books, mainly English translations of international classics, scattered throughout. On any given afternoon you’re likely to find people conversing on the couches, playing games, working on puzzles or colouring books, or sitting at communal tables working on various projects.

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Heliopolis is an adult-only environment, no tipping is allowed (and staff are paid fairly), and customers are encouraged to roam throughout the room. Allam and Beshara say they want people to feel like they’re guests at their home. Neither have experience in the food service industry, which means they don’t feel uncomfortable about breaking long-held and often unnecessary restaurant industry “rules.”

This philosophy extends to the food. Allam and Beshara position Heliopolis as a place for cultures to coexist and not just melt together. Rather than cooking themselves or hiring a house chef, they outsource food items from various local restaurants and put them together on multi-cuisine, multi-cultural platters.

“I like partnerships,” Allam says. “We went ahead and formed partnerships with six restaurants with six different cuisines. My husband created dishes that combine all of them. It is not fusion — it’s real authentic recipes presented alongside other real authentic recipes.”

This means you might get a plate of Nigerian puff puffs served with spicy African pepper sauce, Lebanese labneh, and Mexican pico de gallo or Venezuelan empanadas served with Lebanese fatayer, Iranian olives, and Eastern European cheeses. The cocktails follow a similar theme. With selections like Japanese Slippers, Mexican Palomas and Brazilian Caipirinhas, there’s a good spread of international spirits and flavours. Of course, there are also plenty of no-nonsense Fratello coffee drinks and juices available.

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Heliopolis Social Cafe is located at 817 1 St SW. It can be reached at 403-477-6426 or through heliopolissocialcafe.ca. The cafe is open Sunday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.

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Heliopolis isn’t the only business helping people connect on a human level with some food thrown into the mix. Kakes and Kanvas is the brainchild of Kalia Gounden, who founded the company in 2017 to combine her passions for art and baking. Gounden started by offering paint classes — the kind that bring groups of friends and family to pubs and restaurants they might not typically frequent for a night out that goes beyond eating and drinking — and brought some of her tasty baked goods along as part of the package. Her partner Luke Ball came on board in 2020 and Kakes and Kansas grew, with Gounden’s baking branching out into the realm of custom wedding cakes.

While Kakes and Kanvas was doing well as a virtual business with Gounden going out into the world for the off-site paint classes, the pair decided it was time to open a bricks and mortar shop to have a more physical presence for their customers. They recently moved into a very adorable — and incredibly tiny — 100 square-foot shop in Kensington, fit with a small bake case full of whimsical cupcakes (cupcakes topped with tiny slices of birthday cake or mini key-lime pies, anyone?), filled croissants, and more. A newspaper article about Gounden’s grandfather, who ran a bakery in Revelstoke, is framed and proudly displayed on the wall. They also make a mean cup of coffee.

Kakes and Kanvas will still do its roving paint nights and custom orders, but the in-person location is Gounden and Ball’s dream of growing into a dedicated bakery and painting studio where their entire business can fit under one roof. Until then, visit them at 102, 424 10 St. N.W. or place orders at kakesandkanvas.com. The cafe is open Thursday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth can be reached at elizabooth@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @elizabooth or sign up for her newsletter at hungrycalgary.substack.com.

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