November 2, 2006 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Online Editor Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or ©2006 Chestnut Hill Local Winner of One |
After 14-month delay
When Maurice Lavasani, 49, and his wife, Martha, 42, took over Roller’s Restaurant, 8705 Germantown Ave., and the adjacent Roller’s Gourmet Food Market on August 28, 2005, their plan was to open a Persian restaurant and a Mediterranean gourmet food market shortly thereafter in those two prime top-of-the-Hill locations. But they quickly discovered that your arms can get awfully tired swimming upstream. On October 20, 2005, the natives of Iran did in fact open Shundeez Restaurant, a Persian foods BYOB, where Roller’s Restaurant used to be. But the gourmet food market they envisioned was imperiled by delay after delay. “As soon as we’d get one thing fixed, something else would come up,” said Maurice. “Meanwhile, we had to keep paying rent and other expenses. It was like buying a car, and then the next day the transmission and brakes fail. We had to replace a lot of equipment, and even the refrigerator did not work. We wound up spending $40,000 over and above anticipated expenses. “And because we had lost so much money in our previous attempt to open a restaurant (at Willow Grove and Germantown Avenues), we could not do the things we wanted to do. That’s why it wound up taking more than a year to open the market.” (The Lavasanis had previously rented the property on Willow Grove Avenue, formerly used as a dry cleaning store, in hopes of opening Shundeez Restaurant there. They gave up on that dream after spending a small fortune over more than a year when a long-standing dispute with landlord, Bowman Properties, could not be resolved.) Finally, however, after 14 months of blood, sweat, toil and tears, the Shundeez Gourmet Food Market celebrated its Grand Opening on Friday, October 20, which was also the first anniversary of Shundeez Restaurant. The couple also own the Shundeez outlet in the Chestnut Hill Farmers Market, which has been a staple there for 11 years. Since the Lavasanis and Maurice’s mom, Seyanouch, make almost everything from scratch for all three operations, they are busier than a one-armed supermarket bagger. “I get up at 6:30 every morning,” said Maurice, “and work every day of the week from 8 a.m. until midnight. I don’t even get to see my kids.” At Shundeez Gourmet Food Market, there are lots of free samples, so you can taste the freshly prepared items before you buy, but there is no joker in this deck. The prepared foods are $4.90 a pint or $7.90 a pound. There is a staggering variety of choices, such as Persian soup, baba ganoush, hummus, yogurt dip, eggplant spread, moussaka (both vegetarian or with beef), chili, Mediterranean pesto sauce, chicken curry salad, Turkish meatballs, seafood salad, stuffed cabbage, chicken and eggplant pasta salad, etc. Then there are desserts such as the awesome baklava, milk-free orange pound cake and oatmeal cookies or the jars and bottles of gourmet olive oil, red wine vinegar, preserves, jam and olives, not to mention the crisps, chips, crackers, pasta, dried fruits, cous cous, etc. In terms of public opinion, the Shundeez cake is already baked. “I’ve worked for the restaurant since it opened and now the food store,” said Jared Venezia, 20, a Chestnut Hill resident, “so I can tell you that customers love the food. I have worked in several restaurants before, and usually there were a lot of complaints. Here there are nothing but compliments, though, which is particularly unusual since the cuisine is different from what some of the customers are used to.” Shundeez Restaurant, Gourmet Food Market and Chestnut Hill Farmers Market outlet are all named for the town of Shundeez in northern Iran where Maurice and Martha both grew up. Maurice was also once a partner in a restaurant called Shundeez in Paris, France, where he also owned an interior design firm from 1979 to 1990. The couple then moved to this area to be near Maurice’s parents, who were living in Chestnut Hill. Like so many other immigrants, the Lavasanis decided on the roller coaster ride of the food business. Martha pointed out that many Chestnut Hill residents were familiar with Persian (Iranian) food because of the Persian Grille in Lafayette Hill. Persian food has much in common with Mediterranean food because of the geographical proximity and the intermingling of cultures. Maurice’s stand at the Chestnut Hill Farmers Market is still open every Thursday through Saturday. Its food is characterized by a wide variety of herbs, spices and colors. For example, there are several rice dishes, but they all taste different because of different accents such as saffron, tarragon, parsley and basil. Some of their most popular dishes in the farmers market are rice pilaf, stuffed vegetarian cabbage, stuffed vegetarian grape leaves, printaniere (French specialty that blends seasonal vegetables, chicken and noodles in a zesty Dijon sauce), eggplant with saffron, tomatoes and onions, German-style potato salad, lavash (fat-free, cholesterol-free bread similar to pita), etc. At Shundeez Restaurant, dinner appetizers are from $4 to $7 and entrees from $14 to $25, as well as daily specials. We have eaten there twice and thoroughly enjoyed the Greek salad with crisp Romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion and Greek olives ($7); mirza ghassemi, which is grilled eggplant tossed with tomatoes, scrambled egg, onion and garlic ($6); kabob barg, or grilled marinated filet mignon with basmati rice and grilled tomato ($19) and chicken shish kabob, or grilled and marinated chicken breast seasoned with lemon juice and saffron and served with basmati rice and grilled tomato ($18). The Persian ice cream ($4), made by Martha, has a divine texture and flavor. It is made with vanilla ice cream from whole milk, with the addition of rose water, pistachio and saffron. Also heavenly is the baklava ($4), which is sweet, flaky pastry surrounding a magical marriage of nuts, honey and ground cinnamon. Maurice is a very generous, unselfish man who invariably showers credit on others who have played a role in his success. “First of all,’ he said, “my mother (Seyanouch Lavasani) is the reason I have worked so hard for 11 years (and 13 years before that at the Jenkintown Farmers Market), and of course, I would be nothing without my wife, who makes the specials. And we are so lucky to have a chef like Karineh (Omardai), from Afghanistan, who makes the kabobs.” Maurice’s sister, Maryam Lavasani, 48, a hairstylist at Noria of Tokyo in Chestnut Hill for 19 years, has also helped out, as has brother Mehdi, 53, an industrial engineer who was the manager of Chestnut Hill Village from 1980 to 1990 and then was maintenance manager for Sugarloaf Conference Center in Chestnut Hill for 14 years. (Maurice and Martha have two children, a girl named Jassmine, 10, and a boy named Alex, 8. They live in North Wales.) Shundeez Restaurant is open Tuesdays through Sundays for both lunch and dinner. For more information or reservations, call 215-242-0665 or 215-242-0669. Shundeez Gourmet Food Market is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. It is closed on Mondays. For more information, visit www.shundeez.com |
