Honey Doughnuts & Goodies

For Ashak and Ashifa Saferali, bigger doesn't necessarily mean better.

“We're big on being small,” Ashak chuckles. “We like the place the way it is.”

And gazing around Honey Doughnuts, it's easy to see why. There are dozens of reasons the Deep Cove café has been a neighbourhood mainstay since it opened its doors back in 1987. Everything from the cozy atmosphere, to the entirely homemade menu, to the coffee and espresso selection, to the gooey, decadent, European-style desserts that serve as its namesake. Owned and operated by Ashak and his wife Ashifa since the mid-1990s, Honey Doughnuts is about as close to an actual mom-and-pop shop as a business can get, even if it's grown so busy that they require a staff of more than 20.

“Originally, I bought this business for my wife,” Ashak recalls. “But it ended up being so hands-on, and it was really busy for just one person. So I started giving her a hand, and before I knew it, I was in here full-time. It was busy, and I ended up really liking it. I got to meet people, and it was just fun.”