Local Palestinian Restaurant Moves to Fairfield Township
Al Zaytuna, Local Palestinian Restaurant, Moves to Fairfield Township
March 26, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.
Al-Zaytuna Grill opened the doors to their new location on March 26 in Bridgewater Falls Shopping Center. Serving Palestinian food, Al-Zaytuna Grill offers a variety of dishes including Halal, vegan, and vegetarian options. Nasma Jarabah’s family has owned the restaurant for over five years on Colerain Avenue before relocating to Butler County. “We live in Liberty Township and we wanted a location closer to us. We like this area and the Bridgewater Falls area really doesn’t have much Middle Eastern food so we wanted to bring some diversity. Our heritage is Palestinian, a lot of the time in the media, we are portrayed in a different way and we wanted to destigmatize the misconceptions and showcase that our food is delicious, our smiles are pretty, and we’re just here to have a good time. We’re a family owned restaurant, we really just want to see people smile when they eat our food. It was really important to us to incorporate pieces like the Olive Tree. Al Zaytuna actually translates to “The Olive'' so we wanted to incorporate the olive trees and greenery in the restaurant. To us we are Palestinain even though we live in America, so it’s important for us to not forget our roots. The olive tree is unique to Palestine, its roots are very deeply grown into our soil, no matter how bad our soil is, it will grow. Throughout all of the adversity, it will still grow, so it’s a symbol for our resilience and strength.”
"We’re a family owned restaurant, we really just want to see people smile when they eat our food."
Chicken Shawarma Platter
Michael Berding, Vice President of Fairfield Township Board of Trustees, welcomed the new restaurant during their opening ceremony on Saturday. “I’m very excited to experience this restaurant, the residents here in Fairfield Township have always told us that they want a wide variety of places to dine. This is a great location, we have a nice Japanese restaurant here, a Mexican restaurant across the street, and now a Mediterranean restaurant here just in this little nook of Fairfield Township. I think that our leadership team and our zoning and assistant administrator do a really good job at reaching out to potential new restaurants and working with them to make sure everything is in place so that they can be successful.”
Fairfield Township Welcomes Al Zaytuna Grill
Berding wasn’t the only community leader welcoming the new restaurant, with Fairfield Township Police Department arriving for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Sergeant Brandon McCroskey expressed his excitement for new dining options. “This is very exciting, we don’t have anything in the township like this so it’s very unique to see the diversity and food options, which everybody always wants diversity with food options. With everything else on Princeton road, it's nice to have somewhere to get a gyro. We want to be able to show support to new businesses. We love it and want to get to know everybody in the community, both businesses and residents. It's important for them to be able to know who we are and for us to know who they are so we have that trust. If they ever need anything, they know that we’re here.”
Officer Austin Reed agrees, adding “We want to build a good community where we can have them trust us, that’s our big focus. We’re here to support them and we appreciate their support as well. As far as the food, it’s delicious.”
With filling meals such as chicken shawarma, falafels, salads, and sandwiches, you're sure to find an option to fit your appetite and your budget. As Fairfield Township continues to thrive and increase diversity, excitement and joy fill the atmosphere. Al-Zaytuna Grill is located at 3425 Princeton Road suite 119 in Bridgewater Falls Shopping Center and opens at 11 am daily and accepts online orders at alzaytunagrill.com.
Falaffel Appetizer
Al Zaytuna Grand Opening