Cedar’s Mediterranean Foods, Inc

Employee Size

11-50

Headquarters

Tarrytown, NY

Cedar’s traces its roots to founder Abe Hanna, who perfected a traditional hommus recipe in Mediterranean kitchens before bringing it to his family’s food business. Based in Haverhill, Massachusetts, the company makes simply prepared Mediterranean foods, with its signature hommus built around steamed garbanzo beans and tahini. Its community work includes supporting local food access and youth programs, as well as a culinary training partnership with L’Arche Boston North.

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• Soom FoodsBorn from three sisters’ search for the tahini they had tasted in a Mediterranean town, Soom Foods makes smooth sesame paste for home cooks, chefs, and foodservice kitchens. Its tahini is made from roasted sesame seeds and is sold in both retail jars and bulk buckets, with the company also extending the sesame line into squeeze bottles and chocolate spreads. A first delivery to Philadelphia’s Zahav restaurant reportedly came from co-founder Amy’s car; today, Chef Mike Solomonov uses Soom at all of his restaurants.PHILADELPHIA, PA
• Middle East Bakery & GroceryFounded by Hisham Khalifeh in 1981, this Chicago neighborhood business was created to bring the simple foods of his homeland to local customers. Middle East Bakery & Grocery has grown from a small shop into a gathering place serving Middle Eastern specialties and fresh fare to the community, with homemade breads still baked in its brick oven.WILKES BARRE, PA
• Demeter's PantryCretan-born chef Maria Kardamaki Robertson founded Demeter’s Pantry, a woman-owned Maryland food company shaped by the home cooking she learned from her grandmothers on the island of Crete. The company prepares Mediterranean and Hispanic meals in-house for retail and foodservice customers, with a focus on authentic flavor and straightforward ingredients.SILVER SPRING, MD