A Middle Eastern snack shop on Queen West from the owner of the Gourmet Bitches truck

A Middle Eastern snack shop on Queen West from the owner of the Gourmet Bitches truck

(Image: Shontelle Pinch/Twitter)

Rose City Kitchen, the latest snack counter to hit Queen West, hopes to do for shawarma what nearby Banh Mi Boys did for Vietnamese subs: transform a familiar snack staple into a trendy culinary commodity. Opening in late January at 406 Queen Street, the 15-seat restaurant is a new venture from foodie entrepreneur Shontelle Pinch, one half of the two-woman crew behind healthy food truck Gourmet Bitches. Unlike the truck, Rose City will stick to Middle Eastern dishes like falafel, flatbreads and slaws—a welcome departure from the strip’s ever-intensifying burgerfication.