‘We gain more by giving’: Roxboro restaurant offering free meals for Ramadan
Posted March 18, 2026 6:05 pm.
Last Updated March 18, 2026 6:22 pm.
Ramadan is a month about so much more than just fasting. It’s about generosity, giving charity and showing up for your community.
That’s exactly what Wael Allou is doing with his restaurant Al-Quds Grill in Roxboro on Montreal’s West Island.
This Ramadan, he’s offering a free Ramadan meal to anyone who wants one. No conditions, no questions asked. You don’t have to be Muslim and you don’t even have to be fasting. You need to show up and ask for a Ramadan meal.
“Ramadan make us feel hungry, which is a good thing because you remember people that feels the same way all year long. Since I’m a kid I’ve been taught that if I can feed someone, I should,” Allou said.
“Physically it’s a bit hard because you’re cooking food and you’re fasting all day long so you’re surrounded by food. Feeding people while you’re fasting, it reminds you of why Ramadan is so special.”
While Allou’s family is from Palestine, he was born in Lebanon and immigrated to Montreal in 2006.
“We do this not just because of the money. I don’t think about the financial thing about it. We do it because we feel like we want to, we want to give it back to the community. I’ve been taught since I’m a kid. I don’t like seeing people hungry around me. So I would love to help and share. Sharing is so important these days.
“When people see what we do and they all come and support us. When we need the community, everyone comes and supports us. So it’s nothing to do with financial. It doesn’t matter if we lose here and there. We give, we gain more by giving.”
Allou’s generosity is notorious in the West Island of Montreal, and it runs all year round.
“I love this community, Roxboro, West Island in general. There’s people here from all over the places and they all live together and they support us all year long. So what we do in Ramadan or through the year, it’s a thank you from us to everyone that support us all the year.”
While the success of his restaurant might tell you otherwise, this is the first restaurant Allou ever operated.
“I studied business and when we opened the restaurants, I’d never been in a restaurant before in my life. So it was a risky thing to do. But we manage it and here we are.
“Please don’t hesitate (to stop by). Everyone is welcomed. If you’re in need, if you can’t afford a meal outside, if you’re struggling, if you’re hungry, please come by. Al-Quds Grill is always open, not just in Ramadan, any time of the year. We don’t ask no questions, no judgments. You’re welcomed like a family.”
Allou shared one important reminder.
“Please don’t abuse the thing we’re doing, because we’re trying to help the real people in need. There’s a lot of people that I know there’s some people who come and take food that they really can afford, they can go buy (it). But still, we don’t say anything. We give out the food because we give it from our heart. So we don’t ask anything.
“But I tell those people, please, please keep this to people in need, that people that really need this meal, that they can’t afford it. Because there’s a lot here. So we’re trying to help as much as people as we can. But still, we’re going to give everyone, anyone, no questions, no judgment.”
