Ayat, a Palestinian restaurant with several locations in Brooklyn; the East Village of Manhattan; Princeton, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is set to open in Richardson in just a few months.
Owner Abdul Elenani announced the decision on Instagram nearly two weeks ago, detailing how he came to Dallas to help a friend transition their burger cart into a storefront.
While in town, he met someone in real estate who showed him a few places, and before he knew it, he was signing a lease.
“I never thought I’d be opening a place across the country,” Elenani said.
“It was meant to be; I told him whatever [the price is], I’m taking it.”
Elenani shared that he didn’t even look to see what the market rate should be until a day after completing the deal, despite it being his first-ever trip to Dallas.
Richardson already has a variety of Lebanese, Syrian, and Turkish restaurants, as well as others that self-identify using broader descriptions like Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, or halal.
However, Ayat will be Richardson’s first Palestinian restaurant, and Elenani plans to seize this opportunity to showcase classic and underappreciated regional dishes.
“Staple items like hummus, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, falafel, shawarma, and kebabs are all part of the Middle Eastern region,” he explained.
The menu in Texas will feature staple dishes of Palestinian food, including musakhan (fresh taboon bread with sautéed onions, sumac, pine nuts, and a half chicken), fattat jaj (a six-layer dish with roasted chicken, rice, chickpeas, mint yogurt, crispy pita, garlic sauce, and slivered almonds), and mansaf (bone-in lamb chunks in a stew with fermented yogurt sauce served over a bed of fresh sajj bread and rice), among others.
“A lot of restaurants don’t [have these dishes] because it is hard to have them on the menu all the time,” Elenani stated.
Elenani emphasized that future diners need to understand the philosophy behind Ayat.
“We are all about what’s happening in Palestine, addressing the occupation through peace and love, and trying to bring people together to cut this animosity crap out,” he said.
At his other locations, the restaurant has aimed to educate about Palestine, focusing on how Jews, Muslims, and Christians have coexisted in the Gaza Strip for generations due to its “holy connection to our religions.”
“We have always gotten along together; what has been happening in the last 76 years?” Elenani questioned.
“Why is this creating all this havoc in the world when it is not supposed to? It’s messed up.”
Previously, Ayat faced a barrage of one-star reviews on Google and Yelp in October 2023 following the conflict in Gaza, as reported by Eater New York.
Elenani described his educational commitment to include printing the history of Palestine and basic geographic and cultural facts on the menu, though he remains uncertain what this will entail in Texas.
“I only do what feels right,” he commented.
“I get backlash from my own people [for the things I say].”
His response to those critics? “Shut the fuck up… It is as simple as getting along together.
Let’s remove any regime that will occupy any people, whether you’re Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.”
Elenani clarified that Ayat does not support Hamas, stating, “We are about getting along in peace, and nothing else.”
To prepare for the Richardson opening, Ayat’s suppliers for halal meats will begin distribution in Texas, according to Elenani.
He expects the restaurant to open in three to four months and has already found and hired a demolition crew to clean the leased space for the renovation project.
image source from：https://dallas.eater.com/2025/4/18/24411217/ayat-brooklyn-palestinian-food-richardson-texas
