SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - At 8:30 p.m. Monday night, Khokon Nasir Uddin worked his last shift as an employee and entered the scary world of self-employment.

Khokon Nasir Uddin, owner of Keya Convenience Store and Clothing on 50 Street, says he decided to open the store at the suggestion of several minority groups in Yellowknife who are seeking more specialized grocery items. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

Seeing as how he's about to open a convenience store on 50 Street - an area notorious for its comings and goings, both when it comes to people and businesses - it doesn't get more risky than that.

But Nasir Uddin, who was born in Bangladesh and came to Canada seven years ago, has an ace up his sleeve: his is more than just your typical convenience store; it's a place that will cater to tastes of Asian, African and European minorities living in Yellowknife.

In fact, it's those people who encouraged Nasir Uddin to open Keya Convenience Store and Clothing, which, along with the usual array of Frito Lays, Snickers and Crispers, will also feature frozen vegetables, fish and meat, including goat, lamb, and halal meat - meat prepared according to Muslim discipline.

"Muslim people don't want to eat the meat that we shoot in Canada," said Nasir Uddin, a Muslim from Bangladesh who came to Yellowknife from Montreal four years ago. "...there is a different way to cut their throat, the Muslim way, and we do it in the name of God."

Nasir Uddin estimates there are 150 Muslim families living in Yellowknife, plus a good number of Armenians, creating an ideal market for his products.

"We have a lot immigrants who live here, people from Asia, Africa, Europe," he said. "But they don't get their traditional food, spices, whatever they want."

Until he quit his twin jobs at Twilite Security and Winnipeg-based Aeroguard Inc. at the Yellowknife airport, Nasir Uddin was only getting four hours of sleep a night, as he was so busy preparing for his opening.

He now says the store - named after his mother but influenced by his late father, who ran several businesses back home - should be open within two weeks.

"I learned that business is always better," he said of his father's experience. "If you run a business, somebody is working for you. If you work somebody, that means your body has to be there. You're getting paid by the hour. But if you have you're own business, you're producing something, you can give (job opportunities) to other people."

Loc Bui, owner of Smart Bee Convenience Store, located beside Keya, said the arrival of another store - in addition to Reddi Mart, Corner Mart and Saigon Smoke Shop - doesn't faze him.

"I don't worry at all because I have a lot of customers," said Bui. "Most of the people in town, they know me."

The more people who travel downtown, the better, he added. "For this one, I'm very happy, because it will mean more customers in the area," he said.