Ayat, a Palestinian restaurant with several locations in Brooklyn; the East Village of Manhattan; Princeton, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is opening in Richardson \u2014 in just a few months. <\/p>\n
Nearly two weeks ago, owner Abdul Elenani came to Dallas to help a friend transition their burger cart into a storefront, he said in an Instagram post announcing the decision. While in town, he met someone in real estate who showed him a few places. The next thing he knew, he was signing a lease.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought I\u2019d be opening a place across the country,\u201d Elenani says. \u201cIt was meant to be; I told him whatever [the price is], I\u2019m taking it.\u201d Seriously. Elenani says he didn\u2019t even look to see what the market rate should be until a day after completing the deal. And this was his first-ever trip to Dallas. <\/p>\n
Sure, Richardson already has a slew of Lebanese, Syrian, and Turkish restaurants, along with plenty of others that self-identify using broader descriptions like Middle Eastern or Mediterranean, and other halal restaurants. However, this will be its first Palestinian restaurant, and Elenani plans to use that as an opportunity to put classic and underappreciated regional dishes on display. \u201cStaple items like hummus, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, falafel, shawarma, and kebabs are all part of the Middle Eastern region,\u201d he says. The staple dishes of Palestinian food will be on the menu in Texas, including m <\/strong>sakhan (fresh taboon bread with sauteed onions, sumac, pine nuts, and a half chicken), fattat jaj (six-layer dish with roasted chicken, rice, chickpeas, mint yogurt, crispy pita, garlic sauce, and slivered almonds), Mansaf (bone-in lamb chunks in a stew with fermented yogurt sauce served over a bed of fresh sajj bread and rice), and more.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of restaurants don\u2019t [have these dishes] because it is hard to have them on the menu all the time,\u201d Elenani says.<\/p>\n According to Elenani, what future diners need to know about Ayat is this: \u201cNumber one, we are all about what\u2019s happening in Palestine, addressing the occupation through peace and love, and trying to bring people together to cut this animosity crap out.\u201d<\/p>\n At his other locations, the restaurant has been on a mission to educate about Palestine, and how Jews, Muslims, and Christians have gotten along in the Gaza Strip for generations because of its \u201choly connection to our religions.\u201d \u201cWe have always gotten along together; what has been happening in the last 76 years?\u201d he asks. \u201cWhy is this creating all this havoc in the world when it is not supposed to? It\u2019s messed up.\u201d<\/p>\n Elsewhere, that educational commitment involved printing the history of Palestine and basic geographic and cultural facts on the menu, but Elenani says right now he has no idea what it will entail in Texas. \u201cI only do what feels right,\u201d he says. \u201cI get backlash from my own people [for the things I say].\u201d His response to those people? \u201cShut the fuck up… It is as simple as getting along together. Let\u2019s remove any regime that will occupy any people, whether you\u2019re Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.\u201d Elenani, and Ayat at large, do not support Hamas, he says. \u201cWe are about getting along in peace, and nothing else.\u201d<\/p>\n Previously, Ayat was inundated with one-star reviews on Google and Yelp in October 2023 in the wake of the conflict in Gaza, Eater New York reports.<\/p>\n In preparation, Ayat\u2019s suppliers for halal meats will begin distributing in Texas to accommodate the restaurant, Elenani says. He expects the restaurant to open in three or four months, noting he has already found and hired a demolition crew to clean the space that he\u2019s leased out and complete the whole renovation project. <\/p>\nThe Mission of Ayat<\/h2>\n
Previous Controversies and Future Plans<\/h2>\n
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