Immigration is on the rise in Lethbridge and with it comes a strong variety of ethnic- inspired food that is changing the landscape of dining opportunities.

From Mexican to Cuban, Turkish to Afghani, Lethbridge has seen an increase in the diversity of restaurants.

Ted Stilson, executive director of the downtown Business Revitalization Zone, feels cultural variety is positively changing what used to be a very homogenous way of dining.

“Years ago, we had a very limited selection of restaurants, now we have a wide variety of dining options that include many different ethnic style of foods and I think the people here are really enjoying it,” said Stilson.

Diaz Restaurant, a Cuban joint in town, has been part of the change.

The restaurant’s owner, Zaid Diaz, said when it opened four years ago, it took time for their place to catch on.

“We wanted to put out good food. It wasn’t necessarily to change the culture of the community, we wanted to add a different flavour to the culture in Lethbridge,” said Diaz. “Slowly but surely people got to know us and started to enjoy the kind of food we were offering.”

According to zomato.com, a restaurant review website, this city has over 200 restaurants, giving Lethbridge a variety of places to choose from and Stilson says it’s important to provide customers with a good overall experience because of all the competition.

“They need to have a good menu with good quality and they need to provide people with good service. People enjoy trying new foods, so it’s a great opportunity to be successful when opening a restaurant,” said Stilson.

Kababish Donair is another unique restaurant that gives people a taste of the Middle East. It’s been open for two years and Amjad Mehmood, owner of the restaurant, is happy with the support he has been shown so far, but still faces some challenges.

“For any business, it takes a period of time before people become familiar with the product. I still have people who come in and ask me now how long I have been here and if I just opened, although it’s been open for a couple of years,” said Mehmood.

Stilson admits there are challenges when opening a restaurant, but believes that if a product is met with quality, Lethbridge is the kind of city where people are willing to try new types of food and are welcome to change.