On a Monday morning inside an elegant corner office, Damon Shahidi spoke with Wycliffe College Principal Stephen Andrews. With a wide smile, Damon heartily thanked the seminary principal for his support of Wycliffe College’s new Acacia Cafe, which was once known as the nearby Innis Cafe. 

“We are blessed to be part of this community,” Damon says. 

In mid-2023, U of T Food Services terminated the Shahidis’ Innis lease due to building renovations which left the over 20-year tenants to find an alternative kitchen space on their own. Options were dwindling. 

One afternoon, Principal Andrews learned that the cafe was urgently seeking a new home from an online petition created by PhD graduate Sanchia deSouza. Her petition reached over 4,400 signatures from cafe supporters who left comments about the memories and friendships the cafe gave them. 

The Innis Cafe is now called the Acacia Cafe at Wycliffe College, and the family business is back on track with the same dedicated employees and the tasty offerings that so many of us came to love. Irresistible food in a welcoming space year after year–it’s as simple as that. 

“I know there are a lot of folks who went regularly to the [Innis] cafe…and we’re just so grateful for…all that the family has contributed to our welfare here,” said Andrews. For the first time since Wycliffe’s classrooms and residence emptied during the pandemic, this historic building feels alive again. 

The Shahidis’ Journey

The beloved cafe was first opened by the Shahidi family in 2000. Parents Gunash and Ali Shahidi moved to Canada from Tehran in 1991 with their son, Damon, and Ali soon purchased a Panzerotto Pizza location where 11-year-old Damon spent countless hours after school. “It was like I was literally working there, and I learned a lot,” recalled Damon. 

In 1995, Ali left the pizza business to open a juice bar called Carrot Heads, serving burritos and quesadillas alongside freshly prepared fruit drinks. The health-conscious menu built the foundation for what was to become the Innis Cafe, and in 2000, the Shahidis sold their idea to U of T Food Services. 

That was the year when Ali and Gunash met Frank Cunningham, Innis College’s sixth principal and a strong proponent of the Innis Cafe before his passing in 2022. Cunningham saw the family’s special approach to food, which, unlike U of T’s Starbucks and Second Cup, meant the Shahidis prepared all of their food on site from scratch. It is no easy feat. 

The Cafe’s menu borrows from several cuisines with Mexican, American, and Turkish influences. Choose a hearty chicken burrito served beside salad, a warm and flakey spanakopita, or a fresh smoothie filled with complex flavor. Each bite or sip will brighten your day. 

“We used to order [ingredients], but now the prices are so high that my dad handpicks everything from the grocery store,” said Damon. Each week the gentleman visits grocery stores with a young employee named Carolina as they walk aisle after aisle together, checking items off a grocery list longer than your arm. 

Back at the Cafe, the fresh produce is then prepped and cooked by longtime-staffers Josie and Felicia, and finally meals are carried up a narrow staircase to a gleaming glass display case. It’s a delicate ballet perfected over the past 23 years. 

When selecting ingredients, Ali’s knowledge extends far into the past. For over a decade, he worked for an Iranian bread and cereal company, and Gunash Shahidi worked for Iran’s Standards Company testing all kinds of Iranian products. Both of Damon’s parents hold PhDs in food science. 

So, at a time when U of T Food Services was bringing an increasing number of corporate food chains onto campus which relied on pre-made ingredients, Frank Cunningham advocated diligently (even into his retirement) to protect the Innis Cafe. 

“[Frank] moved to Victoria, BC, but every time he came back to Toronto, he would check in on us,” said Damon. 

Frank’s work, along with the support of thousands of community members, has enabled the Shahidis to craft a niche following of loyal students and happy clients who return time and again. In fact, Damon says he’s seen several student customers reappear as professors and U of T staff, sometimes with their little kids in tow. 

“We come in here day in and day out really [putting] our heart and soul into this place,” said Damon in his kitchen-side office. “It [feels] really good to know that people support us and to know that we’ve built a big community [here].” 

Welcome to Wycliffe

Damon says he and his parents are overjoyed with their new kitchen and equipment at Wycliffe. The biggest change is the cafe’s dining area, the Refectory, which flaunts gleaming chandeliers, spacious wooden tables, and intricate stained glass pieces that cast a colorful light into the room. 

Hannah Monger, a fourth-year English major, thinks the Acacia Cafe is one of the best places to get food on campus. “The people are so lovely and warm, [and] they know everyone’s name who comes here,” she said while enjoying a Balkan spanakopita and a fresh smoothie. 

The Refectory walls contain echoes from generations of students who studied, lived and ate communal dinners at Wycliffe College. Principal Andrews said, “In my day we had to wear ties for the meals, and even before that people had to wear academic gowns!” Some of the religious traditions remain, and on Tuesdays evenings the Acacia Cafe caters “Family Dinners” for Wycliffe residents, the faculty, and their families. 

Student Miranda Peters is a regular at Tuesday dinners, and in the hallway beside the Principal’s office she thanked Damon for his family’s dedication. “When we come together it’s all ages—kids, families and professors–in a really [welcoming] space,” she said. Each week attendees sing grace and read through weekly announcements before their meal. “If we find out that someone has a birthday, then we’ll sing to them and bang the tables,” says President Andrews laughing. 

The Acacia Team

In his office below the cafe, Damon Shahidi runs the operation, ordering ingredients and scheduling two new employees. One of them is Melik Bayat, a young man from Istanbul, Turkey, who accepted his first job from the Shahidis after arriving in Canada. The Acacia staff also includes two Chilean women who joined the team in 2022. 

Antonia Orellana runs the cash register, taking orders and making friends. She’s a confident team-player, but her entry onto the cafe roster was rather last minute. “I came to Canada [to learn] English and study customer service for my work permit, and at the end of the program I needed to take a co-op internship,” she said. With only a few days left until the deadline, Antonia had barely begun the search, so when Ali and Gunash offered her a chance to stay on, she graciously accepted. Today, cafe-goers can expect both Spanish and Turkish to be spoken around the Refectory. 

Prices, from Market to Menu

Post-pandemic inflation significantly raised prices for food providers across the board. “Tomatoes have gone up from 89 cents per pound to $1.99, broccoli jumped from a dollar to $2.5 per pound, and bacon went from $3.5/500g to $8,” said Damon. 

Acacia customers haven’t seen prices rise accordingly, but Damon says the increase is nearing. As things stand, Damon’s menu offers a $7.10 burger and a burrito for $7.20 compared to the $9 base hamburger and $12 burrito students can buy at U of T Food Service locations. An independently-owned cafe in Hart House, the Arbor Room, serves burgers for $8.25, and while they match the Acacia Cafe’s breakfast options, the Shahidi’s juices and smoothies are unique to Wycliffe College. 

Overall, Damon’s philosophy is that by preparing each dish in house, the Cafe will pass on the savings to students who can enjoy healthy and inexpensive food while pursuing their studies. What’s his favorite menu item? “I like our grilled paninis with melted cheese and chicken,” confirmed Damon. “That’s something I’ve eaten [since] childhood.”

Transplanting a Tree

During their move, co-owner Gunash Shahidi sat down to think about a new cafe name. Two decades of memories were attached to their old name and location, but “Acacia,” the name of a resilient tree found throughout the Middle-East, felt promising. 

She learned that acacia wood was used in the Bible to build places of worship, and across Iran the tree is known for its deep roots which support ecosystems of plants and animals. Acacia, she decided, was the right name.