Origin

Our story begins with memories of baking with my maternal grandmother, Tata [Aida], born in Jaffa, Palestine in 1933. Tata is an Americanized pronunciation of "teta," the Arabic word for grandmother. 

I spent much of my childhood watching and sometimes helping Tata make family meals and baked goods, namely maamoul. I fell in love with the science and creativity of baking. And perhaps most gratifying was seeing the expression on people’s face when they took their first bite. 

Several decades later, Zeena Bakery is here in NYC sharing Palestinian baked goods and proudly sourcing ingredients from Palestinian, Levantine and New York farmers. We are grateful to the families from whom we source our ingredients and we are honored to be a part of a network of small businesses sharing various aspects of Arab culture.

We hope you enjoy our traditional treats, served with a modern twist and a whole lot of love.