It’s hard to believe, but what started as just an idea in our small kitchen on Drayton St. in Ferndale has come full-circle into the restaurants we are today.
My parents, Anita & Pierre Farah opened the original Anita’s Kitchen in the now-legendary Tally Hall food court in Farmington Hills (1981). From the beginning, their goal was to share the fresh, exotic flavors of their homeland of Lebanon with the people of southeastern Michigan. Back then, Mediterranean food wasn’t nearly as popular as it is today, and so my parents really were pioneers in introducing it to the masses.
In 1984, enjoying the feedback of their patrons at Tally Hall, my parents decided to incorporate their Middle Eastern cuisine into their family dining location in Troy. It was instant success!
Fast forward to 2008… my husband Joe and I decided to go into the family business! We saw an opportunity to bring Anita’s Kitchen back to its roots in Ferndale, offering ‘Old World Food in a New World Way.’ Almost overnight, Anita’s Kitchen Lebanese Café on Woodward Ave became a staple in the local community, a community that welcomed us with open arms.
As the years passed, Joe and I started to recognize the emergence of the fast-casual concept, and thought our food was perfect for that new model of fast. fresh. healthy. In 2018, we opened our first fast-casual concept in downtown Detroit. Conveniently located in the financial district, Anita’s Kitchen Detroit offers many of the same staples we have come to be known by in an over-the-counter fashion.
Within a couple of years, we also opened full-service restaurants in downtown Lake Orion, as well as the Evans Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport.
Joe and I feel so incredibly blessed to still be thriving in today’s uber competitive restaurant industry. We’ve certainly seen our share of challenges, but our decades of celebrating my family’s food has proved to be extremely rewarding. We’ve met some wonderful people, we’ve worked alongside an amazing team of skilled individuals, and we’ve learned so much about ourselves in the process.
Thank you for an incredible 45 years,and we hope to see you at one of our AK locations very soon!
