Anyone who's been to Lebanon's Mediterranean coast knows that Byblos is a city there founded around 5000 B.C. They probably wouldn't know that it's also the name of a new Lebanese restaurant Sami Tabet and his wife Hala Tabet opened in Federal Hill in February. The couple, who hail from the Middle Eastern nation, serve falafel, babaganoush, spinach and meat pies from the carryout restaurant's 1033 Light Street location.
Tabet purchased the property five years ago and just recently opened the business after former commercial tenants left, he says. The Tabets paid $335,000 for the building, according to state property records. which once housed a grocery store, jeweler and a coffee shop. Because they already owned the real estate, the couple spent just $6,000 to open the new business, Tabet says.
The 550-square-foot restaurant has about 10 tables and walls lined with paintings of landscapes, school mates and houses recalling Tabet's childhood memories of Lebanon.
Tabet, who moved to the U.S. 20 years ago, settled first in Youngstown, Ohio. After just a few weeks, he moved to Baltimore at the suggestion of a friend who said the town had a better city life. And he says he hasn't looked back.
During the two decades he's lived in Baltimore, Tabet says he has seen the city mature and grow with development taking place in all around the city � just as his life in the U.S. grew. "Me and Baltimore, we grew up together," Tabet says.
The couple like Federal Hill because it is a tight-knit community where the neighbors know one another well. He also likes the quaint, urban feel of the area. So far, the restaurant is doing well, he says.
"It's doing very well. I was very surprised. The public has a good idea bout our food and background and ingredients," Tabet says.
"Word of mouth is the best advertising and so far it is working."
Find out what else has been going on in Federal Hill.
Source: Sami Tabet, Byblos
Writer: Julekha Dash