From Cheaib’s family to yours!

For some time now on the Marketplace we've had amazing fresh pita and other baked goods like baklava, baked by Andalos the same morning as delivery. This week we thought it was time to show you the family and story behind your favorite pita pizzas, fresh pita, and other baked delicacies.

Cheaib's family came to Canada from Lebanon in the 90s and started a small bakery in Montreal. Today, 25 years later, Andalos is the largest fresh pita maker in Canada, shipping their amazing products to Canadian and American families. “Customer service and quality of our products is the most important thing for our family! We’re a family business and really care about everything we do here, so I would say from our family to yours is the best way to describe what we do here!” says Pascale Chaeib, General Director of Andalos. We chatted with Pascale so you can get to know your local pita makers better!

So Pascale,  if I understand correctly, Adonis and Andalos are related?

- Yeah, we're all a big family! Adonis is our uncle's company. They came to Canada before us and started Adonis. Then we came to Canada and started Andalos, although my father was never a baker, being a serial entrepreneur, he set up a small bakery offering the three types of pita pizzas you now have on the Marketplace.

So why plunge into the world of pita and other baked goods?

- Our uncle pointed my father in the right direction. He saw that there was a lot of potential in the pita industry here in Montreal so he suggested my father expands in this area. He put together a devoted and knowledgeable team of bakers and worked days and nights to make Andalos what it is today. I was too young at the time, but when I grew up a bit I started helping out.

So what does your typical day look like?

- Oh it’s a bit of everything (Pascale smiles.) My title is the General Director, but I really do a little bit of everything, from marketing to public relations, operations and more. It never gets boring here I have to admit!

And you guys bake every day right?

- Yes! Absolutely! Customer service is very important to us, so we make the freshest pita and other baked goods. We bake every day.

And you have those huge pita making machines in one of the rooms, can we see what’s going on here?

- Yeah, so we have four different kitchens all for different stuff. In the morning normally it’s pita pizza and baklava baking time. This happens in the two smaller kitchens, our ready meals and other cooked dishes are prepared in the third kitchen, and finally the largest space is occupied by our pita making machines. We start in the afternoon usually. So as you can see, you never get bored here (smiles.)

And the word about your amazing pita products spread to the U.S. and the rest of Canada right?

-Yes, we ship to the States and almost everywhere in Canada. People love our fresh pita and our customer service. I always admired how hard my father worked and how devoted he was. For an immigrant coming with his whole family to a new country, not knowing the language, jumping into a completely new environment, it was tough to survive. He not only survived, he turned our small bakery shop into what Andalos is today. Today we're the largest pita baker in Canada with over 200 employees and the freshest pita on the market!

Pascale and Cedric are currently working on adding more awesome baked goods to the Marketplace so keep your eyes open and enjoy their freshly baked pitas!

Happy eating Lufavores!