\u201cMy father started baking when he was a teen in Lebanon,\u201d recounts Nada Shatila, vice president of Shatila. \u201cHe would deliver his pastries to neighbors so they could taste test. When he came to Michigan in the late 1970s, he realized there weren\u2019t a lot of bakeries, especially ethnic ones, so he set out to provide the local community with authentic, fresh pastries with the best ingredients he could find.\u201d<\/p>\n
Building the bakery from the ground up<\/strong><\/p>\n Riad started out alone, but soon hired his first employee, a woman named Zinat. \u201cMy mother was his first employee and shortly thereafter became his wife,\u201d shares Nada. \u201cShe is now the president of our company. I help her run the business, as well as my younger sisters Tania and Batoul, who is only 16 years old, but will soon be stepping in more.\u201d<\/p>\n Shortly after Zinat, Riad hired five more employees and kept working day and night. \u201cHe even slept at the bakery at first; it was his house, as well as his business,\u201d recalls Nada. \u201cEventually, the Shatila name caught on over time and the bakery became known for high-quality products and things started to expand.\u201d<\/p>\n From the beginning, until September 2013 when Riad lost his battle with cancer, he was 100 percent, hands-on owner. \u201cHe passed away last fall at 68 years old,\u201d tells Nada. \u201cHe was involved for the past 35 years, coming in every day and giving it his all.\u201d<\/p>\n While Nada says her father\u2019s passing has been a challenge for Shatila, she says her family and the company\u2019s loyal employee base remains dedicated to preserving Riad\u2019s passion for both pastries and people.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was prepared and had everything in line for succession, but he was such a huge part of the business,\u201d she describes. \u201cHe spoke to every employee personally and he built great relationships. He left a big impact on everyone here and helped foster our high employee retention. We have people who have been here for 10 years or more and they grew alongside him. It\u2019s been a major transition for us, because he left big shoes to fill.\u201d<\/p>\n Riad certainly built a legacy and today, Shatila spans well beyond its home base in Dearborn, Mich. \u201cWe now distribute nationally and internationally to places such as Japan, Costa Rica and Mexico, because a large part of our customer base is wholesalers,\u201d notes Nada. \u201cWe employ 150 individuals between our shipping department and main bakery.\u201d<\/p>\n Locals and tourists alike flock to the Shatila bakery on Warren Avenue in Dearborn, but the company also has loyal customers from Florida to New York and California to Texas. \u201cWe have a large customer base in and out of Michigan and our hope is to expand it in the future, bringing our product locally to some of the areas we\u2019re already popular in,\u201d adds Nada. \u201cWe also have a significant presence on Amazon for online ordering, mainly mixed pastries and assortment trays.\u201d<\/p>\n Proof in the Product<\/strong><\/p>\n While Shatila is well-known for traditional Lebanese pastries, such as baklava, bassma, burma and many more, the company has expanded its product line, introducing homemade ice cream and fine chocolate confections to the lineup. \u201cMy father took his time carefully researching and testing an ice cream recipe, which started to take off in 2005,\u201d recounts Nada. \u201cHe was coming out with a new flavor every year and we now have 15 flavors from coconut to Kashta.\u201d<\/p>\n Shatila\u2019s chocolate ice cream was reviewed by culinary connoisseur Saveur Magazine in a blind taste test in 2005. \u201cWe came in second nationally, above H\u00e4agen<\/em>–Dazs<\/em> and Breyers,\u201d proclaims Nada.<\/p>\n From chocolate ice cream to rich milk and dark chocolate with almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios, Shatila added more confections in 2005. \u201cWe\u2019re now selling our chocolate bars, clusters and filled candy in store and by the pound online,\u201d shares Nada.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A living legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n No matter the product, Nada says it was Riad\u2019s passion to produce the best possible result. \u201cYou often see other food companies making pastries or other products with the cheapest ingredients they can get so they can make more, but that\u2019s not the case with us,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe source our nuts from California and our cashews from Brazil; we spend the extra money for the taste and quality, even if it means breaking even sometimes. That\u2019s just how my father wanted it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Nada says she sees expansion in Shatila\u2019s future, but not at the price of product quality or customer service. \u201cWe always need to maintain consistent, fresh products, quality, cleanliness and exceptional customer service,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s how my father wanted it. We have great potential to establish more local bakeries and expand our online presence, but our goal is to first carry on and improve on what he originally started.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s crafting traditional Lebanese desserts or new and exciting products, it\u2019s all a labor of love and dedication for Shatila Food Products LLC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/shatila.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/271045_185908864798552_2847124_n.jpg\")
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