Our founder, John Lazeez (right), distributing the first John Lazeez Memorial Scholarship check.
John Lazeez raises the Canadian flag of victory over Berlin. For this feat, he will be chased by the Red Army for three days.
Who was John Lazeez? A Canadian icon? A war hero? A shrewd businessman? A generous philanthropist? John Lazeez was three of those things.
John Lazeez's story starts during World War II, when he was deployed to serve in the Middle East. After a dedicated tour of duty, spent mostly eating the local cuisine, Lazeez was re-deployed to Berlin in the final days of the war. Unconfirmed legend has it that Lazeez fired the shot that killed Adolf Hitler.
After the war, Lazeez returned to his home country of Canada, where, like many veterans, he began searching for the next phase of his life. Finally, Lazeez settled on bringing the cuisine he had enjoyed in the Middle East to his home and native land (but without the Luftwaffe attacks).
Lazeez Shawarma was born, and is now one of the premier shawarma restaurants in Canada.
John Lazeez's funeral attracted almost 100,000 mourners and caused several trample injuries, symbolizing his impact on the community.
In his lifetime, John Lazeez was a generous philanthropist, donating hundreds of dollars to local causes and take-out restaurants. In particular, he founded the John Lazeez Memorial Scholarship, in recognition of the vital role his restaurant played in the lives of many university students.
Tragically, in 2019, John Lazeez was killed in a garlic sauce accident. However, with his dying words, he expressed his greatest wish: to continue his philanthropy so generations of future students could get a good education, like he didn't.
We pledge to continue his sacred mission, until we forget or run out of money.
Winning recipients of the John Lazeez Memorial Scholarship will receive the cash value of one (1) Lazeez Chicken on the Rocks*, to be put towards that recipient's education.
Potential recipients must submit their email and a short piece on what Lazeez means to them.
We plan to select the winning recipients at the end of the Fall 2022 term. Winning recipients will be notified via email, and, if they wish, have their submissions published on this website.
* Cash value will be determined at the time of award. John Lazeez Memorial Scholarship takes no responsibility for fluctuations in the value of the award owing to market conditions.