Privacy Policy

01Our approach

Shovarma Tavern is a food business, not a data business. We collect the minimum we need to cook your order, get it to you, and keep the kitchen running well.

This policy explains what we collect, why, who sees it, and what you can ask us to do about it. It applies to this website and to orders placed through it.

02Information you give us

When you place an order, we collect:

• Your name — so we know whose order this is
• Phone number — so we can confirm the order and reach you at the door
• Email address — for confirmation and receipts
• Delivery address and delivery notes — for delivery orders only
• Your order details — items, quantities, options and any special requests

If you tell us about an allergy or dietary requirement, we treat that as health-related information and handle it with additional care. We use it only to prepare your food safely and share it only with the kitchen staff who need it.

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect the email address you provide for that purpose.

03Information collected automatically

Like most websites, ours receives certain technical information automatically when you visit, which may include your IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, the pages you viewed, and the site you arrived from.

This is used to keep the site working, understand which dishes people are looking at, and diagnose problems.

04Information stored in your own browser

Some information never reaches us at all — it stays on your device in your browser's local storage:

• Your cart (shovarma_cart_v1) — so your selections survive a page refresh
• Your Ember Rewards balance (st_ember_balance) — your loyalty points total

We cannot read this remotely, and it is not sent to our servers as a matter of course. You can clear it at any time through your browser settings — though clearing it will also erase your Ember balance, which we cannot restore.

05Cookies and analytics

This site may use analytics to understand how visitors use it — which pages get attention, where people drop off, and whether the site works properly on different devices. Analytics data is aggregated and is not used to identify you personally.

Analytics providers may set cookies or similar identifiers on your device and may process data outside Canada, including in the United States.

You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings, and most browsers offer a "do not track" setting. Blocking cookies will not stop you from ordering.

06How we use your information

We use what we collect to:

• Prepare, confirm, and deliver your order
• Contact you about that order — including if something is unavailable or delayed
• Take and process payment
• Prepare food safely around any allergy you have told us about
• Handle refunds, complaints and food safety questions
• Operate the Ember Rewards program
• Send you marketing messages, but only if you asked us to
• Understand how our menu and site are used, so we can improve both
• Meet our legal, tax and food safety obligations

We rely on your consent for marketing, on the necessity of performing our contract with you for order handling, and on our legitimate business interests for site security and improvement.

07Who we share it with

We share your information only where it is needed to run the business:

• Payment providers, to process your payment securely
• Delivery staff or delivery partners, who receive your name, address, phone number and order
• Technology providers who host this site, handle order submissions or provide analytics
• Professional advisers and authorities, where we are legally required to disclose information

Some of our service providers operate outside Canada, which means your information may be processed in other countries and may be accessible to authorities there under their local laws. We choose providers that offer appropriate protection.

08Payment information

Card payments are handled by third-party payment processors. Your full card number is entered directly with the processor and is not stored on our systems.

We may retain a record of the transaction — amount, date, and the last few digits of the card — for accounting and refund purposes.

We will never ask you for your full card number, PIN, banking password or one-time code by email, text or phone.

09How long we keep it

• Order records are kept as long as needed for accounting, tax and food safety purposes, typically several years as required by Canadian law
• Allergy information is retained only for as long as needed to serve you safely
• Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe
• Analytics data is retained according to the provider's retention settings

When information is no longer needed, we delete it or anonymise it.

10Keeping it secure

This site is served over an encrypted HTTPS connection. We limit access to order information to the people who need it to do their jobs, and we use reputable providers for hosting and payment handling.

No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a breach occurs that poses a real risk of significant harm to you, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as Canadian law requires.

11Your rights

Under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete
• Withdraw consent for marketing or other optional processing
• Ask us to delete information we no longer have a legal reason to keep
• Ask how your information has been used and who it has been shared with
• Complain to us, and to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta

To exercise any of these, email shovarmatavern@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity first — which protects you as much as us.

12Marketing messages

We only send marketing emails to people who asked for them. Every one includes an unsubscribe link, and we act on unsubscribes promptly.

Withdrawing marketing consent does not stop transactional messages about an order you have actually placed — you will still hear from us about that.

13Children

This site is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

14Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our business or the law changes. The effective date at the top of this page shows the most recent revision.

If we make a significant change to how we use your information, we will take reasonable steps to let you know.

15Contacting us

For any privacy question, request or complaint:

• Email: shovarmatavern@gmail.com
• Phone: +1 (204) 914-3235, daily 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
• Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca, or the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta at oipc.ab.ca.