Page 29 - Forest Hill Lifestyle Magazine March 2022

MICHAEL LUBLIN : Businessman & Global Humanitarian
(Cont’d. from Page 28)
largest Halal chain in the
world – if time permits! With over 900,000 Muslim’s living in the GTA and given the many speeches I delivered to thousands of people in Mosques over the years, becoming a “hot commodity” in this community that I respect and love was at the forefront of my mind. That is how Chainsmoker Urban Halal Barbecue
was born.
The pandemic has been particularly hard on the restaurant industry, how have your franchises coped with the situation?
Contrary to the abysmal performance of so many other great restaurateurs, independents and large brand operators, we have experienced, during this pandemic, growth in both our interior design business and franchising of The Chainsmoker, which has sold five new franchises during the peak of the third wave.
Our small store in Etobicoke, compared to the year previous to the pandemic, experienced a 400% volume increase. People ask, how did you do this? The answer I give them is relatively simple: Folks will always have a nickel for
With some of the 1,000 children in the Michael Lublin Foundation of the Philippines
something inexpensive during a recession, depression or pandemic. I borrowed a page from my grandfather who had a fruit market in Kitchener in the 1920’s and fed everyone on credit during the recession. One doesn’t need to be a genius to realize a factual tenant – “a five and dime” survives any economy! It was an absolutely logical conclusion to therefore put the entire menu at Chainsmoker on sale at 50% off. It drove the food cost up but increased the volume as a result which sky-rocketed to over 400% and built a million-dollar business during a pandemic!
What, for you, is significant about the relationship between restaurants and community?
This is such a simple answer for me. I am not educated at all save for the Jewish education I received at Lubavitcher Yeshiva in Miami Beach, Florida when I was a teenager in the 1970’s trying to find myself. In Lubavitch, we were taught to love every one of God’s creations. Love of thyself was the first step toward my own salvation for a lost teenage soul. During those years, I had a part time job in a restaurant in Miami Beach and from a dish-washer, I worked my way up to the very top of the industry with name recognition world- wide. Achieving such success without an education can only be accomplished within the restaurant industry where the only thing that truly counts is hands-on experience. With this knowledge, seeing so much tragedy and struggle in the world, particularly in third-world countries and with youth, I found myself lighting as large a spark as I could in each soul, or community for that matter, to better themselves and achieve whatever hopes and dreams they have, as did I myself. I always say, while an education is important, you do not need it to accomplish and achieve.
How has your experience in the hospitality industry influenced your advocacy work and humanitarian efforts?
My greatest achievement however, is spoken by the words of our Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) who said, “One who saves the life of another, is as if he has saved the entire world.” The ability to save the life of just one person is important for me, in fact, it’s the single most important facet of my life.
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