When Alrefaie and his younger brother Ahmed heard that Pita Express was for sale, they moved to Michigan and remodeled it themselves. | Photo by J. Adrian Wylie
“I used to go to New York every possible chance I get,” says Eyad Alrefaie, who emigrated from Jordan in 2000 and until recently lived in the Columbus area. “I will go and try to find, like, food carts and small places to eat. I do not go to big restaurants.”
The city serves as the theme for the new Brothers Street Food near Target on Carpenter Rd. Eyad and his younger brother Ahmed heard through a friend that Pita Express was for sale, so they made the deal last spring, moved to Michigan, and remodeled it themselves. (Pita Express is planning to reopen in Briarwood Mall.)
Related: Pita Express Opens
With a bold wall graphic evoking a Big Apple streetscape, a counter fronted with corrugated aluminum to resemble a food truck, a long chalkboard for customers to scribble graffiti upon, and ample booth and table seating, Brothers projects a low-key, neighborly feel despite its shopping center setting.
Based around the “Halal gyro,” the menu features sandwiches (traditional gyro, marinated grilled chicken, cheese-steak, falafel, and hot dogs) and generous platters that include basmati rice seasoned with spices from their homeland, salad, and Eyad’s own white sauce, which he describes as a combination of tzatziki’s tang with Mediterranean and American elements.
“I always loved to just make food,” he says. “So there are certain things in food. It has to be made with love. I can give my recipe to anybody, and I’m very sure it’s not going to taste the same way [as] when I make it.”
Scratch-made desserts include rice pudding, katayef (stuffed Arabic pancakes), and kunafeh, a traditional dish of shredded phyllo dough and sweet cheese topped with syrup and pistachios and served warm.
“Even if I get 10 percent of the people who come to Target and Meijer as a start, I’m good,” Eyad says. “To move in a place that we never heard of and to settle in, it takes a lot, and we’ve done it, and I’m proud. … We found out that it’s a great place. People, they are super-nice.
“I just want to feel like, yeah, I’m special in this area. I’m here for them, and they are here for me. That’s what I’m looking for.”
Brothers Street Food, 3765 Carpenter. (313) 600–0093. Tues.–Sat. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun. noon–8 p.m. Closed Mon.
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