Staying open in the food business for 20 years is a sign of success, Basem Salahi of Lazizah Bakery said.
“If someone succeeds for 20 years, it is a miracle,” he said.
However, there have been significant challenges for the bakery that specializes in Mediterranean foods and ingredients. Now the bakery has a GoFundMe going in order to help keep it open.
“We have tried to avoid asking, but in order to stay in business, we need your help,” Bassem Salahi’s wife Iffat Salahi wrote on the GoFundMe. “We have urgent bills and costs to cover and also need your help to continue to keep Lazizah open and keep our prices moderate for you.”
A people-centered business
Lazizah Bakery has always been a people-focused business. After Bassem and Iffat Salahi made the money they need for themselves, they started the bakery as a retirement job. They aren’t focused on making a huge profit, but instead want to serve the community through their food.
“This is a family business,” he said.
When you go to Lazizah Bakery, you’ll see shelves of imported spices and other ingredients, a bakery case full of cookies and pastries, and the menus listing many things from soups to falafel and beef shawarma. Bassem Salahi is behind the counter, serving customers, offering wisdom and telling jokes, whether that customer has been a regular for years or is there for the first time.
“People first and people always first, “ Bassem Salahi said.
Business challenges
While there have been challenges throughout the years, things changed after COVID, from not being able to go to the farmers market, to rising costs and people changing their spending habits, Bassem Salahi said.
Lazizah has made a point to keep their prices as low as possible to keep serving the community. Bassem Salahi said he hasn’t paid himself from the business for 10 years to keep it going, saying his reward is seeing “the happiness we bring to people,“ he said.
“It’s a labor of love, literally,” he said.
However, Lazizah is still supported “by an amazing community,” and has regulars that come from Norwich, Bozrah, Coventry, Harwinton, Willimantic, Waterford, New London, Killingly and even Westerly, Rhode Island. People who have moved away will make a point to visit Lazizah when they’re back in town, Bassem said.
“We are surrounded by loving and caring people,” he said.
What’s next
Both Iffat and Bassem Salahi are in their 70s, so there is only so much time they have left to run Lazizah. Bassem Salahi wants to phase out the business in a gradual way, but ideally not anytime soon, he said.
“We’re still going,” Salahi said. “God willing, we’ll keep going as long as we can.”
Iffat Salahi has also considered writing a cookbook of her recipes, Bassam Salahi said.
As for supporting Lazizah bakery, Bassem Salahi trusts the community to do what they feel is best, he said.
Dining and Cooking