Ethiopian café celebrates Senators and all that is Canadian

 

Former Ottawa resident’s restaurant becomes hockey central in Addis Ababa  

Lily Kassahoun, a former Ottawa resident and ByWard Market restaurant manager who recently opened a restaurant in Addis Ababa called Oh Canada, whose Canuck theme runs throughout the space and where hockey is front and centre.

 As the Senators face off against the Canadiens in Game 5, and hundreds of thousands of fans cheer them on in Canada, one woman, laying on her bed in the dark on Ethiopia’s night, will be listening intently to the game streamed live over the Internet, yelling just as loudly when the boys in red score a goal.
Former Ottawa resident Lily Kassahoun, 41, moved home to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, almost two years ago to be closer to her family after two decades in Ottawa.
But while in Ottawa studying at Algonquin College and running Memories restaurant in the ByWard Market, Kassahoun fell in love — with Canada, with winter and, most of all, with the Ottawa Senators.
So, when she decided to open a restaurant and café in her home and native land, she wanted to pay homage to the true north strong and free by calling her business Oh Canada.
“It’s been the best thing I’ve ever done in my life because I’m, in my heart, so Canadian,” Kassahoun said from Addis Ababa on Wednesday evening.
Canadian and American expats working at embassies and non-governmental organizations in the East African capital get a huge grin on their faces when they enter her restaurant and see a little bit of home.
From the red maple leaf centrepiece painted on the ceiling to portraits of Canadian musicians adorning the walls, a winter and summer scene of the Rideau Canal, and photographs of a beaver, a moose and polar bear, the Canuck theme runs throughout the space, right down to the Canadian treats on the menu.
Every burger is named after a Canadian hockey team, with the Senators Bacon Cheesburger taking top spot, dubbed “always a winner.”
“I wanted to put ‘always a loser’ next to the Leafs and Habs burgers, but I was worried no one would buy it,” said Kassahoun, who might also make the only poutine available in Ethiopia.
Central to it all is hockey. For her customers who’ve never had hockey fever — or never seen a game at all — Kassahoun patiently explains the importance of a power play and the rules around icing the puck, and gives play-by-plays of particularly exciting moments.
Sadly, for now, vivid descriptions will have to suffice.
While she hopes to be able to show games in her restaurant, the seven-hour time difference isn’t the only hurdle.
It’s hard to get a satellite feed that includes hockey from Canada, so she’s been trying to get the Canadian Embassy to tape the games — which start at 2 a.m. local time — so she can screen them the following day.
She thinks she’ll succeed since “embassy staff are also really thirsty for their hockey — especially during the playoffs,” she said.
Before Tuesday’s game in Ottawa, the restaurant staff, dressed in hockey jerseys and carrying a giant Senators flag, partied outside the restaurant at a pre-game celebration half a day before the actual game began.
But, when the puck dropped at Scotiabank Place, Kassahoun was tucked snugly in her bed having just awakened to her alarm clock. Through her headphones, she was listening intently to Team 1200s live web-radio stream. Internet in Ethiopia is too slow to stream video.

“I can hear the announcers and, since I know my hockey, it’s like I’m watching the game. I can imagine the plays they’re describing.”
Her heart quickens when she hears that her favourite players — Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Neil — have the puck, but this post-season she’s been particularly impressed with goalie Craig Anderson.
“I’m really proud to have our goalie, Anderson. I was holding my breath, ’cause you know how it is with goalies — they seem good, but are they going to produce? — but, he’s just been so good.”
While her love for the game has only got stronger since being away, Kassahoun says being abroad makes old enemies appear like friends.
“My rivals are definitely Toronto and the Canadiens but, you know, now that I’m here, I would hug a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. I would never do that in Ottawa,” she said, laughing.
For the next few days, Kassahoun said she’ll be on tenterhooks with ever other fan, hoping to see her team in the next round of playoffs.
“I always have hope: if we’ve got games to play, we’ve got hope. Stay positive: the more you think positive, the more it’ll rub off on them.”