ZIYAD HERMEZ, THE MANOUSHEH AMBASSADOR TO NEW YORK

and principles, and who value authenticity above everything.

What drove you to establish a manousheh eatery in New York?

A simple craving with no way to satisfy it except for opening my own place. I searched far and wide to find a good manousheh, or any manousheh at all; it was very rare to find one, and if I did, it was not done properly. I actually waited for 10 years before deciding to do it because I kept thinking someone else would.

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

It is hard to list them because you face challenges every day; you think about them before bed, dream about them when you go to sleep and wake up to them. The key is to face every challenge and, whether you overcome them or not, realize that learning from them is the most important thing. I didn’t even know how to bake but, when I finally opened up shop, I was the baker.

Who are your clients in NY? How exposed were they to the manousheh and its roots?

My clients are New Yorkers. They are people who are interested in trying something new and learning about it. Of course I have a lot of people coming to the store who already know what a manousheh is, and they come here to satisfy the same craving I had. However the purpose of this concept started not just to serve these people, but to teach the ones who knew nothing about it.

Do you have any plans to expand your business further?

Absolutely; the idea was to create something that could be easily replicated, because manousheh should not be restricted to just the West Village of Manhattan, or NY, or the US. It should be everywhere; but the most important things are the quality, consistency, and the entire customer experience. So that being said, we are taking our time with everything, in learning as much as we can about the market, the business and the people who make it up.