Arahova Souvlaki started really small: When Christos Kalogrias and Nick Koutroumanis opened this location on Saint-Viateur in 1971, it was little more than a 400-square-foot counter with a handful of seats and a tight menu built around souvlaki. The name came from Kalogrias’s hometown in Greece, but the model was pure Mile End: quick, affordable food for a neighbourhood shaped by working-class routines and late-night appetites.

That first location has since grown from a modest setup into something closer to a local institution, with multiple locations and a parallel life in grocery aisles through its dips and prepared foods. Still, the core hasn’t shifted much. Grilled skewers, pita wraps, tzatziki by the kilo—it’s the kind of place that’s fed generations ever since.