“Want spice on that?” echoes throughout Mystic Muffin, one of Jarvis St.’s most beloved small, counter-style restaurants. But there is nothing mystical about the hearts that beat within this longstanding establishment — their warmth radiates through a community built from an authentic recipe of love and beyond.
In celebration of Small Business Month, Now Toronto stopped in the downtown core to chat with a husband-and-wife duo who have spent more than three decades feeding and nurturing their 33-year-old, lively, tight-knit community.
“Carlos, what do you want today?” Elias Makhoul, owner of Mystic Muffin, says over the turquoise, 10-foot-long counter. He searches for a fresh pita, grabs a large spoon, and prepares a lunchtime favourite for his longtime guest while playfully berating him in the process.
“Nobody gets out of here unsatisfied, except for Carlos. All right, chicken, right? Carlos, right on. Well, he’s [Carlos] special, right? You’re special, aren’t you? Yes, you are special.”
From stuffed patties donning crispy lettuce, fresh tomato, and Mystic’s special sauce, to soups, salads, and droolworthy falafels, to the famous warm, fragrant, fall-laden – and absolutely delectable – apple cake, the restaurant has proven itself evolutionary in meeting the cravings of its dearest guests, whether first-time visitors or longtime Muffin regulars.
When you look around the quaint, close-cornered establishment, a wall on the far right is graced with a plethora of photos showcasing smiling faces from around the world sporting “Mystic Muffin” T-shirts, all for “promotion,” and all in the name of community.
“We have this wall with the T-shirts on it. We had a promotion. It’s still on somehow. You buy a T-shirt, you take a photo outside of Ontario, you get your whole apple cake for free. The T-shirt is $16 and the cake is $22, so you already made your money back. The second photo, you got a banana loaf. Third photo, you got a sandwich. Fourth photo, you got a date. Fifth photo, you got a trip to Lebanon.”
But a few joyful faces standout among the collage of cheerful ‘promotioners.’ On the right side of the well-traveled community board lie several photos of a jubilant Elias and his wife Annie, embracing their newest addition to the Mystic Family.
“Yeah, that was my daughter…I was excited at that time. You know how it is; you’re a new daddy. First time. My daughter is now 12 years old, but the second kid, we never got to print any photos for him, or you can’t catch him in a motion anyway.”
Elias and Annie opened Mystic Muffin at 113 Jarvis St. in 1993, when a then 20-something Makhoul left Michigan to pursue life in Canada. Having left his native home of Lebanon at 21 to start anew in the West, left him with a desire to lean into something bigger and bolder amid his current difficulties.
An ad in the Toronto Sun caught Makhoul’s eye, leading him to the Jarvis and Richmond area, where a “restaurant for rent” sign piqued his interest. After borrowing money and utilizing the previous restaurant owners’ equipment, he carved out something fresh, something that was entirely his, and something he felt compelled to share with others.
“I changed that thing a few times, and now we have Mystic Muffin… And we’ve been here almost 33 years, 33 years in business, almost coming in May.”
Makhoul still vividly remembers the restaurant’s opening year, and for another seemingly good reason. The start of his establishment’s life coincided with the Toronto Blue Jays’ championship win in 1993, and he recalls exactly where he was when it happened.
“That was the last year the Blue Jays won the World Series. I watched that game downstairs in the basement. Joe Carter hit a home run!”
The restaurant’s name comes from the comedic film Mystic Pizza, and a conversation held between Elias’ and his ex-employer, who explained that “mystic” meant “mysterious.” Makhoul loved the idea and initially planned to focus solely on selling muffins and coffee. However, he realized the market, and the bellies of his community members, called for something more.
“Well, I kept adding, adding, adding. Less than a year after I opened. So, we became more on the restaurant side than the coffee shop side. It was still good coffee, but we started selling more because everybody knows, even Tim Hortons used to sell donuts and coffee only. Back in the day, we learned that you know what, you can’t survive on this. You need to bring customers all day long. So that’s how it became the menu…Everything is popular.”
33 years of business, adjustments, and growth, Mystic Muffin has also baked resources into its community. The restaurant once offered a children’s cooking camp, where kids made products to sell to hungry tummies outside, earning free T-shirt’s and the proceeds from their hard work.
“I used to do it every year, on the anniversary of the business,” Makhoul said, adding that he is now too busy to undertake the program, despite wishing he could have seen his children experience it.
Beyond the challenges of letting go of Mystic Muffin’s children’s cooking camp, there are the familiar difficulties found in entrepreneurship: finding balance between work, family, and personal time, maintaining staff, managing budgets, and navigating the harsh realities of hard-earned labour.
“33 years in business is always challenging. You’re gonna be running, gonna be out of your mind to run a small business.”
Makhoul says most of his workdays are long, starting at 2:30 am and ending around 8:30 p.m., making for 18-hour shifts, or longer, depending on customer flow and demand. When he first opened the restaurant, he hired staff to help meet those needs, but he now says it is a distant memory.
“You’d be lucky to find people who want to work. People don’t want to work, and they keep complaining.”
“So, this is why it’s hard to run a business, and. And so, I have myself and my wife and that’s all. I sure need somebody to work. I can’t do it anymore.”
Despite the challenges that evolve and persist, Makhoul embraces his openness to learning from others — spanning all ages — and holds onto the strong work ethic he grew up watching his father maintain.
“I learn new things every day. I’m still learning,” he said. “I’m never embarrassed to learn from people who are half my age or quarter my age, because sometimes they have an idea I can’t even see because I’m too consumed in my work.”
“I don’t complain. Why do you complain? You’d be miserable. You don’t get anything done. Get up and go to work. My dad was like this. He was 65 years a tailor, 65 years. Now, he started at 16. He finished at 81, and never complained a day. Complaining don’t pay the bills, crying don’t pay the bills, and nagging don’t pay the bills. You have to get up and pay your bills. So that’s a lesson for every young person.”
Beyond some of the inherent difficulties of restaurant business ownership, Makhoul uses each day to reinvent himself, his attitude, and his approach to entrepreneurship.
“I’m very happy. I’m the happiest person on earth!”
While more than three decades of hard work, challenges, and triumphs cannot be confined to a single moment in time, the truest joys of entrepreneurship and community, for Makhoul and Annie, are found in a bi-directional exchange: feeding each other with love and breathing life into one another, day by day.
“I always remember, we have a lifetime to make money, but only a short time to make friends.”