A Middle Eastern bakery, restaurant and market is expected to replace a deli and cafe in Cherrydale within the next few months.
Habibi’s Kitchen and Market plans to open this spring at 3907 Langston Blvd, offering Middle Eastern cuisine, fresh bread and local produce, owner Hassan Almaala told ARLnow. It’ll be a sister establishment to Almaala Farms, a longtime Union Market stall offering Middle Eastern bites and produce from the Almaala family farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
“It’s going to sell meat pies [and] very traditional Middle Eastern, Mediterranean-type goods, like baklava, kunafa and shawarma,” Almaala said.
Habibi’s is expected to replace Billy’s Deli/Cafe, which reportedly plans to depart the space at the end of this month. The sandwich spot opened in 2021, in the same space where owner Billy Hamrock previously welcomed Billy’s Cheesesteaks 10 years prior.
The menu is still being finalized, but Almaala said it will pull inspiration from his father’s Jordanian heritage. Planned options include pita, meat pies and safiha.
Named after an Arabic term of endearment, the location will focus more on baked goods than the family’s Union Market outpost.
“My mom’s from Indonesia, and I’m even thinking about incorporating some Indonesian influences, like fried rice or like Indonesian spring rolls,” Almaala added.
The location is also expected to sell goods such as honey, jam and pickled goods from Amish vendors, plus microgreens and organic eggs from the Almaala family farm.
“That’s like, kind of an encapsulation of my family’s journey in the U.S.,” Almaala said. “My folks immigrated to the United States, so it’s a little bit of our background, and just expanding that into the Arlington area.”
This is Almaala’s first business and his family’s first project in Virginia. He previously spent about two years in China working for the State Department before moving back to the region in January to help run his family’s businesses.
“Arlington really has a thriving Muslim, Arab, Jewish, Christian [community], like the diaspora of the Middle East community in the area,” Almaala said. “That’s a really beautiful thing, and if I can add to that in some way, that’s my ultimate hope.”
Almaala hopes to open for business sometime between mid-May and June.
