Article and photos by Joel Weiner
There aren’t many companies in Lowertown still operating a half century after starting up. One of the very few is Cumberland Pizza, which celebrated its golden anniversary by reopening in late April, following a year-long shutdown caused by a fire and ensuing water damage. The renovations were delayed by a number of factors, especially the high-impact derecho that swept through our region just three weeks after the fire and overwhelmed contractors, who had widespread destruction to deal with in the aftermath.
Despite its name, Cumberland Pizza is actually on Nelson Street, just across from Loblaws. But the corner of Cumberland and Cathcart is where customers were first served fifty years ago, and the Cumberland name stayed with the business when it moved to 152 Nelson in 1980.
Family connections are another constant. When Fadi and Farida Kapro took over in 2010, they bought it from Fadi’s uncle, Eidy Absi, the founding owner. The couple had known each other as teenagers in Beirut but soon lost contact. Fadi eventually emigrated to England and Farida to Ottawa. As fate would have it, they reconnected in 1995 when Fadi flew in for the wedding of a friend who happens to be Farida’s relative. He proposed a week later.
When Cumberland Pizza reopened earlier this year, it was as a full-fledged restaurant with new equipment, a redesigned layout, modern décor and room for dining. Previously just a take-out and delivery shop, it can now accommodate up to 19 diners inside and another 10 on the front patio. A liquor licence is expected soon.
While the already expansive menu didn’t need a change, there has been one addition —a new pizza made with sujuk, the dry, spicy sausage that’s often used in Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisine. In Lebanon, sujuk sandwiches with Armenian spices, tomatoes, onions, pickles and garlic powder are enormously popular. So, to celebrate the reopening, Farida transformed it into a thin-crust pizza that features all the above ingredients—except for pickles! It’s one of the many reasons that customers come from far and wide to satisfy their culinary cravings.
Obviously, Cumberland Pizza is best known for pizza. In fact, Trip Advisor ranks it number one out of the 10 best “pizza places” in Ottawa, and it appears on several other lists as well. But the menu also includes pasta, sandwiches, subs, salads and an array of starters, platters, sides and drinks. North American, Lebanese, Greek, Italian and Hawaiian styles are available—and now, Armenian, too.
Before COVID, Cumberland Pizza made deliveries to homes, university residences and tourist hotels in Lowertown and elsewhere in the city, but when business was cut in half by the 2020 pandemic, the drivers left and Fadi took up the slack, with occasional help from the couple’s two adult sons. Today, however, delivery is just as up-to-date as the restaurant itself. Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes and Restozone all make pickups throughout the day, and customers can also order directly at cumberlandpizza.ca or 613-789-9999.
The Kapros’ key to success is simple — customer service is just as important as quality food.
That’s the secret ingredient that Uncle Eidy gave Fazi and Farida when they took over the business 13 years ago. And that’s why so many clients stepped up to help when the restaurant reopened—by ordering several times each week, tipping heavily and providing other kinds of support. With a loyal clientele like that, Cumberland Pizza expects to be a Lowertown mainstay for years to come.
