The days of the small Middle Eastern bakery or produce stand that pioneered redevelopment along Warren Avenue in Dearborn are fading.
Enjoying the prosperity of an area they helped redevelop, these former small bakery owners are now operating Middle Eastern food centers with restaurant space, retail and larger bakeries. And a produce stand owner is now operating a large grocery store that sells Middle Eastern olives along with paper towels.
It's a trend caused by the revitalization of business along Warren Avenue and changing eating habits among Arabs and non-Arabs, say the business owners and an industry consultant.
Hussein Siblini said there were few successful businesses along Warren Avenue between Wyoming Avenue and Greenfield Road when his brothers opened the New Yasmeen Bakery in 1986.
"It was like a village where everybody went away. There were a lot of vacant stores," he said. "There was only one restaurant and a bakery. Then a fruit stand moved in. This street wasn't alive like it is today."
The New Yasmeen Bakery started with 1,000 square feet, and about half of that was taken by baking equipment and the counter. The bakery moved two blocks west into a 10,000-square-foot space in 1991 and last November added the 5,000-square-foot Flying Carpet Cafe, a cafeteria-style restaurant featuring Middle Eastern cuisine. The expansions cost $500,000 each...