Every Ayoub's store has a roaster, and stores with one do better. Amir Hosh, owner of Ayoub's Dried Fruits & Nuts, explains how fresh roasting, farm-direct sourcing, and trained "store energy" turned his family's Iranian nut-shop tradition into a growing Canadian retail chain.

Amir's father Ayoub started working in a nut shop in Iran at 14. He went on to open his own shop and trained a generation of family members who now run nut stores across the Middle East, where these shops are as common as coffee shops. Amir took over the Canadian business in 2014 with a Howard Schultz–style bet: if he Westernized the concept and delivered on quality and service, North Americans would stop buying nuts off the grocery shelf. Today Ayoub's has eight locations, with Victoria and its first U.S. store in Seattle on the way.

Kenny walked into two Ayoub's stores as a regular customer and was surprised by the service, so we brought Amir on. He explains how he tries to systemize something most retailers leave to chance: a store's "magnetic presence." He covers why paying more doesn't keep good people but a real career path does, why every assistant manager is expected to train their own replacement, and what Starbucks and Lululemon teach about keeping energy consistent as you scale.

We also get into the supply chain. Ayoub's imports directly, buying organic almonds from a family farm in Spain and cashews from a farmer in Vietnam, and roasts in-store. That replaces a grocery supply chain that can run six to seven months from farm to pantry. Amir also explains why fresh means no preservatives, which is why his team makes its own jam for its cookies.

Check out Ayoub's here: https://ayoubs.ca/