For Mustafa Sarikaya, his spouse Reyhan and their three kids — life revolves across the Yellowknife Fieldhouse.
It is a spot to earn an revenue, work together with their neighborhood and share their tradition.
“Fieldhouse is sort of our life,” Mustafa Sarikaya says.
He received the contract to function the canteen on the Metropolis of Yellowknife facility when it first opened in 2011.
“My son was solely three months previous. Now he is 12. Now we have now different children. Our youngsters develop within the Fieldhouse.”
However since unionized Metropolis of Yellowknife staff walked off the job final week, the Yellowknife Fieldhouse has been closed to the general public and Sarikaya, who is not a metropolis worker, has been pressured to shutter his enterprise. Town and the Public Service Alliance of Canada negotiators have agreed to return to the negotiating desk Monday in hopes of reaching a deal.
“It is sort of dangerous proper now as a result of I haven’t got every other revenue, simply Fieldhouse proper now. I hope it would not take that lengthy and we return to enterprise once more and … proceed serving our clients.”
“Most of our clients are children and so they most likely can be so completely happy to see me once more. I’m the one man that sells cotton sweet on the town proper now,” he jokes.
Sarikaya says fortunately, a lot of the meals he sells, he buys frozen.
“As a result of it is frozen we do not waste a lot issues. We convey some stuff house and use it for private issues or we donate some stuff if it is an excessive amount of.”
His canteen was solely in a position to reopen three and a half months in the past after being pressured to close down for over a yr due to the pandemic. Having to shut final week is one more monetary hit, Sarikaya says.
“I am fortunate my spouse at the very least she’s working. She brings some cash at house proper now. In any other case I am gonna search for another job to make some revenue,” he says.
Sarikaya just isn’t taking sides within the dispute; he’d similar to to see it come to an finish.
“I consider metropolis employees … they want some elevate too,” he says. He is hopeful the town and employees will come to an settlement “and everybody could be completely happy and we are able to get again to work, again to enterprise.”
Household enterprise
Sarikaya and his spouse moved to Yellowknife in 2004, simply three years after he immigrated to Canada from Turkey. Two of his siblings and his mom nonetheless stay within the nation and had been fortunate sufficient to have escaped the devastation of final week’s earthquake.
His canteen consists of the flavours of house.
“We do not have a full kitchen we will not do a lot issues. We do Turkish espresso, Turkish desserts and we have now a Turkish wrap. Not a lot. Simply wish to present just a little little bit of Turkish tastes,” he says.
The canteen may be very a lot a household enterprise. It is usually open on evenings and weekends and you’ll usually discover the vast majority of the household behind the counter.
For Sarikaya although, the Fieldhouse is greater than a spot to earn a dwelling. He lives and breathes soccer — teaching, refereeing and taking part in most days of the week. He is additionally the vice chairman of Yellowknife’s grownup soccer league.
“We stay half of our life within the Fieldhouse, half or our life right here,” Sarikaya says, from his front room.
Proper now, a lot of that life is gone.
“We’re within the vacancy. You’re feeling the vacancy. There’s nothing a lot to do,” he sayd. “I hope it would not take lengthy.”
