A new report from New American Economy reflects the ability of these communities to integrate and succeed in the United States. Within the report, readers will also meet MENA immigrants from across the country who have become integral parts of their local communities, like Dr.
Mehdi Yazdanpanah. A native of Iran, Dr. Yazdanpanah came to the United States on a student visa to pursue a Ph. After Mahmoud Abumayyaleh, the owner of the Minneapolis store outside of which George Floyd was killed by police, spoke out against police brutality on Facebook and in news media, Arab American business owners have been encouraged to reflect on their relationships with their communities.
In Chicago and other cities around the country, Arab American business owners have had stores — including convenience, electronic and grocery stores — in black neighborhoods for decades. Sometimes, their relationships with customers have been tense. While Chicago Arab American business owners interviewed recently said they have a good relationship with their black community, some black neighborhood residents pointed to ways stores discourage their presence.
In convenience stores on the South and West sides, there are often large security camera feeds displayed, signs to discourage loitering and glass partitions between customers and clerks. Down the street from a Bronzeville convenience store on 43rd Street recently, year-old artist TwoWeeks, who goes by his artist name, reflected on his typical experience when he visits a corner store.
I used to be really friendly, I gave people credit, food. A convenience store manager in Bronzeville, Hassan Aoun, said he hired five extra security guards. About 8, people tuned in. Panelists talked about the history of racism against black people at Arab and South Asian owned stores, including aspects like over-securing of stores in black neighborhoods.
In India, dhabas are hour joints, similarly located off of highways, right next to gas stations. They serve the ultimate comfort food — everything creamy, greasy, and covered in ghee. In the U. The town of Burns boasts a population that is over 99 percent white. Singh and his family may as well be the only Indians in the area; that is to say, Burns is not the most obvious place to start a traditional Punjabi restaurant. And work never stops. Antelope is a true family business — along with his wife, his father, and his mother, Singh cooks all the food, operates the truck stop, and runs the attached convenience and liquor stores.
While I spoke to him over the phone, he kept up the interview while continuing to interface with customers. When they moved to the United States in , the sisters found themselves in Franklin, Tennessee, a town guided by the same God-fearing morality they were raised with back home.
When they first opened, Angelina says they were selling to customers who had never had Mexican food before. But, what they loved is that their customers were more than willing to try. By sharing her food, Angelina soon found a community in Tennessee that was respectful and accepting, just like the one she grew up with in Mexico.
In Michigan, the Gulli family found themselves addressing some of the same issues in the early s when they first started Mr. Kabob, a Middle Eastern restaurant based in their gas station.
Worried that new customers would have reservations about eating food from a service station, the family purposely built an open kitchen so that they could show, with full confidence, that their food was fresh and high quality. Those worries, thankfully, never manifested. It permeates. That entrepreneurial spirit has carried the Gulli family far. So, they found a new home. Even today, Detroit is still home to one of the largest Iraqi American communities in the United States. The Naseems bought a two-bay car garage in Berkley, Michigan, and started doing full-service auto work.
When their sons grew older, Fadia and Walid converted the garage into a gas station, and with the renovation, created a space to start the restaurant they would call Mr. Top left Inside Mr. Kabob; top right A mezze plate, for takeout, at Mr.
Kabob ; bottom Chicken on the grill at Mr. Kabob in Berkeley, Michigan. Eventually, the restaurant became busier than the station, and the family started to consider expansion. Naseem and his two brothers, who were all working other jobs at the time, came back to help the family business grow.
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