Author: Frankford Community Development Corporation

We bet you’ve passed Irqaa’s Cafe at 4663 Frankford Avenue a million times, but that shop is home to a lot more than good, home cooked food. Nafisah Lewis, owner and chef, is quite the entrepreneur: she caters and sews, but most importantly she is a world class candle maker. She started making candles five years ago, after she and her sister-in-law attended a flea market and struck up a conversation with a woman selling her own home made candles. “I can do this,” Nafisah thought. Her first forays in to candle making were, in her own words, a disaster, but she soon mastered the science and art of the craft.

Today, Nafisah makes candles of all scents, colors and sizes for as low as five dollars. Scents include fruit slice, banana nut bread, lavender, and cranberry. But if her standard candles are not what you’re looking for, she’ll work with you to create a scent to call your own. As she puts it, “What I love about making candles is the response I get from my customers, seeing them smile and hearing them say, ‘Oh your candles are just the best!’ That’s when you know you have a good product. I’ve been told my candles are better than Yankee Candles!”

Nafisah has lived in Frankford for thirty years, and she and her husband opened Irqaa Cafe thirteen years ago. She loves the restaurant, but loves being busy and multi-tasking even more. She’s always looking to expand upon her business efforts, and satisfy her increasingly large customer base.

So stop in Irqaa’s (open Monday through Thursday from 8:00a to 5:00p, and from 8:30a to 6:00p on Fridays and Saturdays), eat some of Nafisah’s famous blueberry pancakes, and then ask her to make you a blueberry pancake scented candle! We guarantee she can do it. Or, if you can’t make it in to the shop, give her a call at 267-738-4529 and check out her new website, www.justgoodscents.webs.com.