BizWeek By Jiya Doctor: Recipes Passed Down Through Generations

This interview was done right after the tragedy that happened in Beirut, Lebanon. There are Lebanese charities that the readers can donate to mentioned by Mrs. Christiana, one of the owners of Layla’s Lebanese restaurant, at the end of the interview.

Jiya: How long have you owned your restaurant?

Mrs. Christiana: When we originally opened it was in Old Town Alexandria, so that was in 2007. We had a little break when we sold it. Then we opened this restaurant in Woodbridge. We would be turning five years next year since in this location, but we’ve had Layla’s for more than 10 years, well almost 15 years.

Jiya: What was your inspiration to own a Lebanese restaurant?

Mrs. Christiana: My mom really liked to cook, so that was her dream, and my dad told her “well let’s open up a restaurant.” We opened it around a time when the economy wasn’t good, so it was taking a risk. Right before the recession hit in 2008.

Jiya: What is the history of Lebanese food?

Mrs. Christiana: It’s truly passed from generation to generation. My mom learned to cook from her mom and my grandmas mom learned to cook from her mom, so it was passed down from the mothers to teach your daughter what you do, how to cook, and our mom passed it down to us, so hopefully when we have a daughter or our son even if they wanted to cook, it would always be passed down to generation.

Jiya: So you’ve made your own recipes?

Mrs. Christiana: Yes, so the recipes are from generation to generation, but it’s the Lebanese cuisine. I don’t know how to date it back to the exact date because it was a very long time ago.

Jiya: What are the most popular foods at your restaurant?

Mrs, Christiana: We have the chicken shawarma, falafels, hummus, tabbouleh, lamb, and our kabob. It’s in the mixed grill. It’s got everything on there like ground beef, lamb, chicken, and our vegetables, and our most famous thing and what we’re really known for is our Garlic Whip. We also have Lebanese tea, coffee and wine.

Jiya: I understand the Garlic Whip is delicious. I have had it several times. What about your family history?

Mrs. Christiana: Our grandparents moved to America first, they wanted to start a better life. Then my dad moved here with his dad and became U.S citizens, and my dad went to Lebanon and he met my mom and then they got married and came back to the America.

Jiya: Could you describe the taste of your food?

Mrs. Christiana: The Garlic Whip is garlicky and lemony. The chicken shawarma is not spicy just very flavorful, it’s a lot of spices.

Jiya: How is coronavirus affecting your employees and you?

Mrs. Christiana: My hours got cut and we had to reduce a lot of the hours. We’re not open for a dine in, so we have to do carry out for people. We’re still in the process of finding a safe way to open and we can have diners come in, so that’s a work in progress right now. We are also trying to see when and how we can re-open, so we can have customers come in. Our catering has really been affected because not many people are having gatherings because of social distancing. We seem very low on catering orders, but there are still some coming in here and there. Not all the time like we used to so that’s slowed down. Hopefully when people feel more comfortable and we’re all adapted to the coronavirus restrictions we will hopefully see a little spike in sales when people are gathering, but not more than 10 people so it’ll be smaller orders, but we’ll still have them. We’ve had those 10-15 catering orders, but not too big right now.

Jiya: What would you say to other restaurant owners during this time?

Mrs. Christiana: That they’re doing a very good job, to stay safe, and not to give up because this hopefully will be going away soon, and hopefully we will all adapt to the changes this has been brought to our businesses. That truly pull through because the restaurant that they have is worth it and a lot of people love them. We need a lot of people to support small businesses like us right now, so don’t give up.

Jiya: What about your family in Lebanon with the current tragedy?

Mrs. Christiana: Well, I have family on the outskirts of Lebanon and thankfully they are safe.

Jiya: If people want to help Lebanon are there charities?

Mrs. Christiana: We have the Lebanese Red, which is excepting donations right now.

I learned so many interesting facts about Lebanese food from this interview and The family that owns Layla’s. I love everything there. The baba ghanoush with warm, soft Pita bread is so mouth watering. The garlic has a great flavor, so your taste buds are in for a real treat.

Here is the website for Layla’s restaurant:

• Layla's Lebanese Restaurant