Falafel, etc.

While most students spent their time playing outside after the final school bell rang each day, Ramzi was inside his father’s falafel shop in Nazareth, Israel, helping to prep chickpea patties between working on homework questions. Those late afternoons instilled in Ramzi a passion for the restaurant business, one that outlived his first career in the tech industry. Now at the helm of his own Middle Eastern eatery, Falafel, etc., Ramzi and his wife Zuhad season their handmade falafels each morning before kettle-frying them in front of patrons. They also fill plates with skewered lamb, chicken shawarma, hummus, and pitas. On the outdoor patio, tables flank a multi-tiered water fountain filled with wished-upon pennies and strands of mermaid hair.