EDMONTON — Imran Kayesh remembers the smell of lightly marinated chicken and fish sizzling on a grill inside a packed restaurant in Bangladesh just before sunrise during Ramadan.
"It's like 4 or 5 a.m., so early you won't realize that you are going to restaurants at an odd time," says the food blogger, who immigrated to Canada from the South Asian country in 2015.
"Outside on the road, you see cars packed, weather is humid, people walking around."
There was rice and yogurt to go with the meat, along with a large glass of water, which sustained him until dusk.
As Ramadan begins Friday, Kayesh says the vibe won't be exactly the same in Canada. But he's excited that more restaurants across the country are set to stay open longer or open earlier each day throughout the next month.
He's already set his sights on Middle Eastern, Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants and a coffee shop in Edmonton that plan to serve halal food until midnight, through to sunrise or 24-7.
The unusual hours of operation are a tradition in countries with large Muslim populations during Ramadan, a holy month in the Islamic lunar calendar when Muslims don't eat food or drink water from sunrise to sunset.
Such countries also allow Muslims to work shorter days so the fasts are easier to get through.
In Canada, with its amount of daylight in March, many Muslims don't eat or drink anything for 12 hours.
Calgary-based food influencer Zareen Tasnim says she's excited to break each fast by eating from buffets that many restaurants plan to add to their menus late into the night and only during Ramadan. There will be mouth-watering trays of kebabs, chicken tikka, paneer, naans, biryani, butter chicken and other stews.
Tasnim says there's also a popular Korean fried chicken joint in Calgary that's scheduled to stay open later, and some businesses have also created space for Muslims to pray.
"It's so exciting when different cultures also extend their hours, celebrate your culture with you," she says. "We definitely did not have that a few years ago."
When Tasnim previously wanted takeout during Ramadan, she says she would have to pick up her order hours before she could break her fast.
"By the time it was time to eat, it was cold or not as fresh," she says.
Wayne Smith, director of the Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Research at Toronto Metropolitan University, says the trend of extending restaurant hours during Ramadan began after the COVID-19 pandemic as Canada welcomed more immigrants.
"You're starting to find halal food in a lot more places in Canada than you would have found 10 years ago and definitely more than 20 years ago," he says.
"Immigrants are bringing that culture to Canada."
Smith says Canadians who don't mark Ramadan, including those who work graveyard shifts or have remote jobs with international companies, also appreciate being able to get fresh, savoury South Asian and Middle Eastern meals and desserts at odd hours.
"Given our society today, it actually just makes sense. We work in a much more 24-7 environment."
Most municipal bylaws in Canada don't have restrictions on the extended hours, he adds.
"The only time that you really get a lot of restrictions is if you were serving alcohol," he says. Most halal-serving restaurants don't offer alcohol.
The one challenge can be finding workers.
"But this is an industry that's well used to working toward guest needs and working odd times, so they make it happen," says Smith.
Kayesh says extended hours is also good news for second- and third-generation Muslims born in Canada who can experience their culture in their neighbourhoods like family members did decades before.
Ramadan is like Christmas for Muslims, says Tasnim.
Along with fasting, the community makes time to volunteer for charities, gather in large groups, pray shoulder to shoulder at mosques, reflect, then eat some more.
"My favourite part is spending time with family and friends who I don't get to see a lot of throughout the year," she says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 28, 2025.
Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press
