Celebrating National Arab American Heritage Month

Celebrating the rich and diverse culture and contributions of Arab Americans, National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM) has been observed during the month of April since 2017. This year for NAAHM, we recognize three Arab American business owners that have made a name for themselves in the San Antonio restaurant scene.

The following businesses have benefited from being part of Culturingua and LISC’s Kiva Microloan Program, which focuses on expanding financial access to help underserved communities thrive. Through LISC trustee Culturingua, borrowers get one-on-one support throughout the application and crowdfunding process. As a Trustee, Culturingua endorses the borrowers’ loans and enables the businesses to qualify for LISC’s 1:1 matching fund, which encourages individuals from the United States and over 75 other countries to become lenders and help crowdfund these loans.

“Culturingua is excited to partner with Kiva and LISC to offer 0% interest loans to underserved entrepreneurs in the greater San Antonio community. Arab-American business owners are particularly underserved because, while they often experience social and economic disadvantage due to racial and ethnic prejudice and cultural bias, they are excluded from the protections afforded to other socially and economically disadvantaged business owners under the Small Business Act. This program helps provide much needed access to capital to these and other underserved business owners,” says Nadia Mavrakis, Culturingua CEO.

“LISC San Antonio is proud to enable Culturingua to be a trustee with Kiva, thereby expanding access to capital for disadvantaged entrepreneurs. This program implements one of the critical recommendations from the San Antonio Small Business Ecosystem Assessment, which is to use a community crowdfunding tool to expand access to flexible capital,” says Leilah Powell, Executive Director of LISC San Antonio.

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Abdelbasset Ridene came to America in 2000 from Tunisia and started his culinary career at a restaurant in Connecticut, where he received professional training from an Italian chef, before ultimately settling in San Antonio. In 2019, he was able to put his extensive culinary knowledge to use when he took ownership of Royal Pizza. He was immediately met with hardships from heavy construction in the area, soon followed by the pandemic. However, he was able to overcome all obstacles with his determination, fresh ingredients, stellar customer service, and loyal guests.

“It’s a pizzeria of our neighborhood,” says Abdelbasset. “You should be feeling comfortable here, like you are home.”

In 2022, they were praised by MySA for their rich European flavors and having some of the best calzones in town. Abdelbasset received $3,500 from Kiva funded by 46 lenders and used it to purchase a new cooler as well as pizza topping and salad station tables.

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Palestinian-American Bara Ekhlayel has been in love with European culture and food since childhood. He opened Crepeccino Café & Creperie in 2018, where he serves his customers a variety of European food including crepes, waffles, gelato, and Italian coffee. In 2019, the café was recognized in SA Magazine as the best place in town for crepes. Bara’s passion shines through with the rich and authentic flavors he offers.

“I hardly take days off; I enjoy doing work,” says Bara. “You need to be sincere about what you’re doing. If you don’t like what you’re doing, don’t do it. If you like to be a business owner, you like to serve people food that you like – do it.”

Bara received $11,000 from Kiva funded by 297 lenders and is using it to expand his business into the vacant space next door, which will allow Crepeccino to accommodate their steadily growing flow of guests with a larger kitchen and dining area.

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Tripoli’s opened its doors in September 2011, and since then, Libyan-American Howaida Werfelli has worked hard to make Tripoli’s a place for all to enjoy. Tripoli’s strives to invoke the nostalgic sense of home and warmth through their authentic Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) cooking, handcrafted specialty beverages, and atmosphere. In 2021, MySA recognized Tripoli’s as “a ‘bridge’ between San Antonio and Middle Eastern flavors.”

“We are not only in existence to nourish appetites but also to serve as a gateway to the MENA,” says Howaida. “We can expand horizons and serve as a first-time experience for many guests.”

Howaida received $14,500 from Kiva funded by 355 lenders and has since used it to purchase kitchen equipment and help relocate the restaurant to a larger venue.

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Learn more about Culturingua, LISC Economic Development, and LISC's Kiva partnership.