Balkan Bites is a female- and family-owned food company making ready-to-bake frozen burek and mini phyllo rolls rooted in Southeast European comfort food. Founded by Ariana Tolka and her aunt, chef Alida Malushi, the company grew from Sunday baking sessions honoring Alida’s late mother, Magbule, into appearances at New York markets including the Columbus Circle Holiday Market and Queens Night Market. Its phyllo dough is made from scratch, while the recipes preserve the family’s Albanian and wider Balkan heritage.
Djerdan BurekFounded in 1997 by Bosnian refugee parents, family-owned Djerdan Burek makes traditional Balkan phyllo-dough pies using hand-crafted methods. After starting with a restaurant in Astoria, Queens, the company opened a North Jersey production facility in 2014, supplying restaurants and retailers with frozen bake-at-home burek now available across all 50 states.BROOKLYN, NY
Athens Foods, IncAthens Foods, a family-owned Cleveland company with more than 60 years of experience, makes phyllo dough and phyllo-based foods for home cooks and foodservice kitchens. Best known for its tissue-thin dough and fully baked shells, the company also turns phyllo into ready-to-serve appetizers and classic baklava, with products available nationally.CLEVELAND, OH
Aunt Ethel's Pot PiesFor more than 30 years, Aunt Ethel’s female-owned business has been refining a signature pot pie recipe in Brooklyn, first for local clients and later for home cooks across the United States. Founded by Sasha to reinvent comfort food, the company makes quick, fully cooked frozen pies with real ingredients and a buttery croissant puff pastry crust. A portion of its proceeds supports teachers across America.BROOKLYN, NY
Marchiano's BakeryA female-owned, family-run Philadelphia bakery, Marchiano’s began in 1982 when Frank and Kathy Marchiano turned Nunziata’s basement recipes into a Manayunk institution. Now carried on by their daughters, the business still follows its old-fashioned methods and a specialty-bread recipe passed down through four generations. Its USDA-inspected wholesale operation extends that family tradition to retailers beyond its own shops.PHILADELPHIA, PA