What do you love about the restaurant industry and your customers?
We love food and feeding people real, unprocessed, good-quality food! Hospitality and food are a huge part of our culture. Sharing the cuisine we both grew up eating is what we love the most. Seeing customers' reactions when eating at Layla’s Falafel brings us pure joy. It’s more than a shared meal. It’s comfort, it’s love.
How did you get started? Any advice?
The Layla’s Falafel story began by accident in our family’s chain sandwich shop in downtown Bridgeport, CT. Layla’s Falafel was never the plan, but it became our family’s American Dream.
It all started when a customer asked Layla if she could make him tabbouleh after learning that she had recently immigrated to the US from Lebanon. We opened up the first Layla’s Falafel in Fairfield, CT in 2000.
A restaurant is not an easy thing to start. My advice is that food needs to come from the heart. If you’re not cooking from the heart, do not start a food business. – Dino
My advice is to build step by step and always make sure you have a solid foundation. Take it slow. – Layla
What do you love most about Stamford?
We love the people of this city, its diversity, and its geographical location. We meet people from all over the world and we love how familiar they are with our cuisine. Stamford is such a special city to us and the community has been nothing but warm and loving. Thank you to the Stamford Community and all of Fairfield County for all your love and support throughout the years together. We are also excited to announce we have launched a food truck for private events and corporations and we cannot wait to feed you!