NORTH OLMSTED — Twenty years ago, not many connected North Olmsted to the Middle East, but now those two places thousands of miles apart are closer than ever.
In North Olmsted, just one turn off Lorain Road, you’ll find yourself in a taste of the Middle East.
There, you’ll see Amin Abuhamada and Nizam Suliman, who are two proud business owners who didn’t grow up in Ohio, but they are among the growing number of Arabs who are calling North Olmsted home.
Amin planted his roots 15 years ago at the corner of Brook Park Extension when he opened a Middle Eastern grocery store called Olive Tree. At that time, there weren’t too many Arab grocery stores in the area.
Over the years, he’s provided his customers with those uncommon Middle Eastern groceries and a sense of community.
“When you come into the Olive Tree, it says ‘Welcome to Olive Tree, feel at home’ we make them feel like they are back home. The music, the products, the treatment,” said Abuhamada.
That comforting feeling spread beyond his store walls. Over 15-plus years, he’s inspired others to join him, and soon, the number of Arab businesses blossomed to dozens all along the Extension.
The newest business is a restaurant called Fire and Dough.
“We have a lot of different pizzas here trying to mix different things like Middle East pizza, Italian pizza, American pizza,” said Nizam Suliman, the owner of Fire and Dough.
Suliman immigrated from Palestine and decided to open a restaurant similar to one overseas. When it came to picking a location, he quickly found comfort in the complex that had quickly turned into an Arab bazaar.
“To bring the whole community here, it’s very amazing thing to support each other in this area,” said Suliman.
“I think it's the next chapter of the American story,” said Max Upton, the North Olmsted Director of Economic and Community Development.
Upton has watched the Middle Eastern community grow in North Olmsted, making up 11.2 % of the city’s population. Those growing numbers have also brought new life along an old stretch of storefronts.
“This shopping center you know, it's had its challenges and now it's almost completely full and almost completely full with their own businesses,” said Upton.
But, the expansion doesn’t end with the shopping centers. The next addition is the Beit Hanina Community Center.
“We just purchased this building, it’s going to bring the community more together since its around our housing closer to our families,” said Nasser Wahdan, a Trustee for Beit Hanina Community Center.
Within the Community center, they plan to host events, gatherings, after-school programs for kids, and so much more.
“Beit Hanina is a village in Palestine we are 25000 strong within Cuyahoga County,” said Wahdan.
Off Brooker Park Extension, it doesn’t matter if it's a grocery store, restaurant or community center.
“People have a lot of negative views of us and we’re trying to show people how good we are, how our culture is very good,” said Suliman.
As once immigrants in a foreign country, together they're pushing for the same thing.
“Its a warm feeling when you walk in the stores here they treat you above and beyond,” said Wahdan.
A sense of home.
“We want to encourage everybody to come around here because here you feel different; you feel like you are in another world, like a safe area,” said Abuhamda.
