The story of Fattal's, one of the first Middle Eastern bakeries in North Jersey, is a true tale of the American Dream. In 1968, the Fattal family, led by matriarch Michael Fattal, emigrated from Allepo, Syria to Paterson, New Jersey with only a few dollars in his pocket and a family of seven to feed.
Michael brought his heritage and what would soon become a renowned family recipe to an area of Paterson where little was known about the Middle Eastern culture. Working tirelessly with his wife and children, they began to bake pita bread by hand in a brick oven, and served the community with a new taste that would eventually pull in customers from far out of the Paterson area.
Once word spread about his authentic pita bread, Michael, his son Edmond, and now, his son-in-law Norman, quickly scrambled to expand their selection to fill the demand they had created. Middle Eastern pastries, including countless varieties of Baklavah and Middle Eastern cookies such as Ghabibeh and Maamoul, were the next step in what was soon to become a store, and name, larger than they could have imagined. These three men would comprise the business partnership that would build the Fattal's that still stands over 50 years later.
Over the next 20 years, Fattal's would increase its retail store size and selection exponentially, eventually purchasing the land adjacent to their small, historic Paterson shop and building a larger store able to house the vast selection of homemade recipes and imported items from top distributors across the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The store is still run by Edmond and Norman, and now three of their children, Tiffany, Bianca, and Christopher, creating a third generation of family to run the operation. Fattal's still hold on to the traditions and core values of hard work and honesty that made the store what it is today. The greatest accomplishment we pride ourselves on is not how much our store or clientele has grown, but rather on having created an establishment loved and revered by generations of loyal customers that make Fattal's a true family tradition.