{"id":20183879,"date":"2025-09-03T08:02:26","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T15:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metrosiliconvalley.com\/?p=20183879"},"modified":"2025-09-03T08:02:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T15:02:31","slug":"arab-bakeries-bay-area-levant-dessert-maya-fezzani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metrosiliconvalley.com\/arab-bakeries-bay-area-levant-dessert-maya-fezzani\/","title":{"rendered":"Arab Bakeries Revive Community and Cuisine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An Instagram reel from LeVant Dessert\u2019s Sunnyvale location pans across a buzzing Eid celebration: tables packed with customers, plates of various sweets, and live musicians filling the room with Arabic melodies as guests clap and sing along. The scene feels more like a festive community gathering than a storefront bakery: a place where food, music and culture intertwine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As LeVant Dessert cements its role as a hub for Bay Area Arab diaspora in the South Bay, another beloved institution called Reem\u2019s is preparing for a return to Oakland, hinting at a wider regional resurgence of Arab-owned food spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arab bakeries are emerging as cultural touchstones across the Bay Area, serving not just desserts but a sense of belonging. LeVant Dessert\u2014with Oasis Baklava in Sunnyvale and LeVant Dessert in Menlo Park\u2014reflects this shift through its blend of hospitality, heritage and community-building. Its growing presence in the South Bay comes amid the highly anticipated return of Reem\u2019s in Oakland, suggesting a broader revival of Arab-owned food spaces and their role in shaping the region\u2019s culinary and social landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arab and Middle Eastern North African (MENA) communities have long been part of Northern California\u2019s diverse fabric, with waves of immigration dating back decades. Recently, there\u2019s been a notable surge in popularity of Arab culinary ventures across the Bay Area, fueled by a growing second-generation population eager to reconnect with their heritage and by wider local interest in authentic, regional flavors. This has led to increased demand for traditional Arab desserts and breads, from flaky baklava to za\u2019atar-spiced flatbreads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 2017 by Maya Fezzani, who is half Lebanese and half Syrian, LeVant Dessert began spontaneously. Friends praised her traditional family-style sweets, but she assumed Bay Area Arabs already had access to such recipes in their own kitchens. It wasn\u2019t until she started making smaller, caf\u00e9-friendly portions for catering events that she realized the wider market potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demand \u201ctook off very quickly,\u201d she recalls, prompting her move from a home operation to a storefront. Today, most of LeVant Dessert\u2019s customers are non-Arabs drawn to the unfamiliar flavor profiles\u2014orange blossom, rose water, salep\u2014and modern presentation of classic treats. Bite-size knafeh became an early bestseller, while items like pistachio-rose cake and \u201cbooza\u201d Middle Eastern ice cream now routinely sell out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fezzani says she never set out to serve only her own community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBack home, everyone makes these desserts\u2014I wanted to introduce them to people who don\u2019t,\u201d Fezzani says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RISE UP LeVant Dessert\u2019s Menlo Park bakery and cafe serves as a cultural gathering point. PHOTO: Contributed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beyond its sweets, LeVant Dessert has evolved into a cultural gathering point in the South Bay. Fezzani sees the caf\u00e9 as a space for celebration and connection\u2014from Eid catering orders to afternoon meet-ups over coffee and baklava. She emphasizes that Levantine pastries are rooted in ingredients rarely used in Western baking, like shredded phyllo for knafeh, orange blossom syrup, and mastic, which gives the desserts a distinct identity while also sparking curiosity among new diners. Balancing tradition with innovation has helped the shop thrive: recipes are inherited from grandmothers, but presentation and size are adapted for American caf\u00e9 culture. Fezzani says the most rewarding part of the business is watching people gather around her desserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI get to see people loving what I grew up with,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Reem\u2019s first opened its Arab street bakery in Oakland\u2019s Fruitvale neighborhood in 2017, it quickly became both a culinary destination and a symbol, celebrated for its mana\u2019eesh flatbreads, political murals and community-focused mission. The pandemic forced the beloved space to close, leaving a void for loyal East Bay regulars who saw the bakery as more than a place to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, after several years away, local news outlets report Reem\u2019s is preparing a long-awaited return to Oakland. For many longtime customers, its comeback represents more than nostalgia; it signals a re-investment in Arab visibility and hospitality in the Bay Area, and underscores how much the region\u2019s food landscape has changed during its absence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a post-9\/11, post-Trump America, and against the backdrop of ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Arab-owned bakeries have taken on an outsized symbolic power. These spaces offer not just knafeh and baklava, but pride, cultural safety and public presence. At LeVant Dessert, owner Maya Fezzani says customers are often curious first\u2014then delighted\u2014by ingredients they\u2019ve never tasted before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople enjoy discovering something different,\u201d she notes, adding that introducing new flavors is part of her mission. Reem\u2019s, meanwhile, has long embraced a politicized identity, fusing Palestinian food with calls for liberation and justice. Together, the two represent a quiet yet powerful form of resistance: insisting that Arab culture belongs boldly on Bay Area streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running an Arab bakery in the Bay Area comes with unique pressures: commercial rents are sky-high, ingredients such as pistachios, salep and orange blossom water are expensive to import, and many customers still need to be educated about what, exactly, they\u2019re eating. Staffing, especially with people familiar with the nuances of Middle Eastern desserts, has been another hurdle. Yet Fezzani remains ambitious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still young, but growing,\u201d she says, adding that expansion could someday include locations in the East Bay, San Francisco or Los Gatos. For now, she\u2019s focused on extending her menu, reaching new audiences and making LeVant Dessert a staple in an increasingly globalized local food scene. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LeVant Dessert can be found at 842 Santa Cruz Ave, Menlo Park. Sister restaurant Oasis Baklava is at 907 E Duane Ave., Sunnyvale. For more information, call ; 650.402.2525 or visit <\/em>levantdessert.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arab bakeries are emerging as cultural touchstones across the Bay Area, serving not just desserts but a sense of belonging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14789,"featured_media":20183882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[1691],"tags":[20478,20481,20479,20482,20480],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n