Rumi Baklava owner Hamed Alghazali, right, and pastry chef Anas Hamad, center, hold a fresh tray of baklava. Photo by Denine Currie
When the pandemic forced Hamed Alghazali to work remotely from his position as a UN policy advisor in New York, he packed up his family and came back to Fresno. What followed was an unlikely pivot — from international development to baklava.
Rumi Baklava, Fresno’s newest Middle Eastern bakery, held its soft opening May 1 at its new location on the corner of Shaw and Marks avenues. The 1,500-square-foot bakery offers 50 traditional Syrian baked goods made from scratch each day. The name nods to Rumi, the widely read 13th-century Persian poet — a thread that runs through both of Alghazali’s ventures.
A chef who starts before sunrise
Alghazali hired Syrian pastry chef Anas Hamad to run the kitchen. Hamad, who has been a professional baker for 20 years, helped design the menu and begins baking at 5 a.m., opening the doors at 7 a.m.
The menu includes baklava, made with filo dough, honey and nuts; hareesa, a coconut semolina cake topped with nuts; and kunafa prepared two ways — a semolina version and one with a crunchy kataifi shredded dough.
“He does everything from scratch. He buys the flour, buys the cream — even the cream he makes it from scratch, everything is done here,” Alghazali said. “This is the way you find it in Damascus, Aleppo, Beirut, Irbid — all these cities in that region.”
From the UN to Fresno
Before becoming a business owner, Alghazali studied economic development in Michigan and worked in export promotion in Yemen before accepting a scholarship to study public policy in France. After earning his master’s degree, he moved to New York and worked as a policy advisor for the UN until the pandemic hit.
“When COVID happened, you know, we got to start working remotely, so I packed all my bags with my family — I have two kids and my wife — and we came back from New York here to Fresno,” Alghazali said.
Back in Fresno, he found himself drawn to food and beverage as a way to build something rooted in the community. He spotted an opportunity when Fabiano’s Coffee Roasters came up for sale and bought the business from its founder, who had started it with her husband in 1993 and was ready to retire.
Fabiano’s Coffee: roasting in Fresno
Fabiano’s team of three roasts all of the brand’s coffee in 20- to 30-pound batches out of its Fresno facility. Black Magic dark roast, its most popular offering, is roasted three to four times per week and consistently sells out, Alghazali said. The business currently offers eight unique roasts along with wholesale and private label services.
“We’d love to work with more brands,” he said.
Rumi Coffee coming by June
Now Alghazali is expanding the Rumi concept to coffee. He signed a lease for Rumi Coffee cafe in November and is currently remodeling a location at the corner of North Fresno Street and East Alluvial Avenue. He said he is designing custom teakwood seating for the dining area, is in the process of hiring and plans to open by June.
“We want people to come, stay, and linger, and we’ll have a lot more seating capacity,” he said.