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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Syrian Food Finds Niche in Conejo

When Mazen Nadour fled his war-torn country of Syria and arrived in the United States five years ago, he just wanted a stable job to help his family. But last month, Nadour took on a new challenge by opening Azi Grill at the Janss Marketplace food court in Thousand Oaks. Azi Grill delivers authentic Syrian cuisine to its customers. The main star of the restaurant are the shawarma plates, crafted from Nadour’s family recipes. Shawarma is a meat preparation where a large amount of lamb, chicken or beef is placed on a spit near a heat source where it slowly grills all day long. The meat is served on a plate with sides, or wrapped into pita bread with vegetables. The restaurant also serves falafels and kubi, a meat and onion mixture cooked into bite-sized oval pieces. Nadour is no rookie when it comes to the food business. Prior to Azi Grill, he worked at the Santa Cruz Market, a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean market in Ventura, where he learned to speak English and cooked up shawarmas and falafels, which quickly became popular. “Everyone loved my food. I had to show some American guys how to make my falafels,” he said. “So, I decided to open my own business.” In Syria, Nadour had owned a popular shawarma restaurant with his brothers. But even for a veteran restaurateur, adjusting to new business practices in a foreign land was a challenge. “In Syria, it was easy,” said Nadour. “There are lots of people walking on the street all the time. And they would just come in when they smelled my food.” But in Thousand Oaks, Nadour had to learn how to generate business by using social media. Heather Danko is a senior marketing director for NewMark Merill, the property management company in Woodland Hills that manages Janss Marketplace. Danko said it was important to market the restaurant in a way that was in line with Nadour’s culture. “Because the food is so authentic, we took the approach of just letting people try the food first,” she said. “We invited people to like Azi Grill’s Facebook page and in return gave away free food on opening day.” Danko said the restaurant has developed a solid fan base as people experienced Nadour’s cooking. Another adjustment was working with regulatory agencies like the Ventura County Health Department. Nadour was not familiar with strict regulations placed on eating establishments. However, he appreciates the government’s efforts now. “In the beginning it was very hard,” he said. “Everything had to be clean, fresh and perfect. But I like it better because it’s the right thing to do.” Despite the challenges, it is hard to ignore Nadour’s enthusiasm towards the new opportunity. “If you work here, and do a good job, you will find a future here,” he said. – Iris Lee

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