Beirut Bakery

Middle Eastern Deli/Bakery


“We went into business to survive,” Milad Hallis said, his voice echoing against the pristine tile floor of his Redford storefront. “And for a business to survive, you need family to keep it going.”

It was the end of the day and the counters were clean, the falafel balls packed away, each container of salad lidded and shut for the morrow. In the kitchen, Milad’s wife Leila swept the floor clean of flour. A big metal bowl of chopped spinach sat on a cart, ready for the next day’s fresh-baked pies.

Detroiters have been buying Beirut Bakery breads, salads and spreads from their Redford eatery since 1979 and in metro Detroit markets and stores for much of that time as well. The Hallis and Wakim families have manned the shop for three decades, producing soft, natural pita bread, Middle Eastern spreads and salads, and other favorite family recipes for sale in the bustling shop.

Both families emigrated to the United States from Lebanon in the 1970s and shortly after started the business. Their only culinary training the careful instructions of parents and aunts and uncles, they opened one of Detroit’s first Middle Eastern eateries (the first in Wayne County), selling the flavors of their heritage and teaching Detroiters about the range and taste of Middle Eastern fare. The company is now run by the next generation. “We’re just making good food,” says Catherine Hallis.

“We serve only what we eat at home. All natural, the freshest ingredients, nothing added that you wouldn’t want to eat.”