America land of opportunity for Lebanese business owners
The Wakim and Hallis families love their home.
“America has given us this opportunity to do something we couldn’t do in the old country” of Lebanon, said Catherine Hallis, who with brother Mark is the next generation running Beirut Bakery in Redford.
“And Lebanon is a beautiful country. They called it the Paris of the Middle East,” she said, noting you can swim and ski there within the same day easily.
“We can’t go all at the same time,” she said of family members, who regularly return to Lebanon. “That’s their country along with America.”
Her parents, Milad and Leila Hallis, go back regularly. “I think that they’re very hopeful,” she said of Lebanon’s future. “I think they believe one day it will go back to what it was.”
The family members emigrated in the mid-1970s and opened Beirut Bakery in 1979 in Livonia, then moved it to Redford in 1982. They lived many years in Redford and moved some 15 years ago to Livonia.
“I’m a Redford girl,” said Catherine Hallis, a Thurston High graduate. “It was a good place to grow up in.”
She said modern Lebanon is much different from what’s seen on TV news. “A lot of people that go there want to go back,” she said, noting not all visitors have Lebanese roots. “It’s a very lively place. Beirut is awake 24/7. The style, the music, the people.”
There are many religions and walks of life there, Hallis added.
‘Piece of their childhood’
Locally, those with Lebanese roots often visit Beirut Bakery on Schoolcraft near Beech Daly. “That also brings them back in,” she said of authentic food. “They’re remembering a piece of their childhood.”
Shawarma, tabouli and salads do well at Beirut Bakery. “I’d say everything’s a good seller,” she said, noting owners learned from experience what customers like.
They supply over 85 stores “between here and Chicago,” mainly metro Detroit, she said.
Lebanese families often get together over food. Hallis’ grandmother raised 12 children. “And she cooked for them breakfast, lunch, dinner. All of my aunts are chefs,” she said.
Lebanese people often invite visitors to tea at night. “You will never leave their home hungry or thirsty,” Hallis said. “That’s one thing that will never happen.”
Her dad took the children to Lebanon as children. “We went to all the historic places,” she said, recalling learning of poet/writer Kahlil Gibran, who was Lebanese-American. “We were there for a month and he made sure we saw everything we needed to see.”
The children saw in Lebanon a cave all of crystals. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” she said. They saw the cedars of Lebanon, too.
They still have family land in Lebanon, and a cousin helps with cold pressing and shipping olive oil from there. “It’s definitely a higher end olive oil, a special blend,” she said.
That blend is used for salads or salad dressing. “It’s good as a marinade, too,” she added.
They don’t have a lot of family still in Lebanon, more distant relatives on her dad’s side. They can now Skype easily to keep in touch.
Foodie workout
A walk through Beirut Bakery is a workout for the taste buds. The deli-type counter includes lentil salad, tabouli, chickpea salad, cabbage salad, yogurt and more.
There are dips, such as Spicy Labna Dip, spinach pie, Leila’s Lebanese Pizza, and feta cheese pie. Nearby are baklava trays, along with Laughing Cow cheeses, baba ghanouj, hommus and soups.
You’ll find spices, garlic ships, cheese bread and Zaatur bread, along with red and green lentils. There’s rice pudding, Sitto’s House Dressing and Fattoush Dressing, and more. Domestic and Bulgarian feta cheese is sold.
She and her brother, along with the upper generation, are proud “a family business can last a long time. We were raised very well.”
Source: www.hometownlife.com