The Authentic Taste
of the Middle East

For generations, the Ziyad family has traveled far and wide to discover the cherished foods of the Middle East and Mediterranean to meet the growing demand for authentic foods from the region. To meet the needs of retailers across the U.S., Ziyad has established long-standing relationships with the leading growers and suppliers of traditional products in the Middle East. Ziyad Brothers Importing has been offering thousands of products to retailers for decades.

Our story begins in 1966 when Ahmad and Ibrahim Ziyad founded Syrian Bakery and Grocery, Inc., a small retail outlet on the Southside of Chicago.

We developed the first automated pita bakery in the Midwest. Production continued to expand, and procurement of new products from the Middle East soared.

The 80s market the beginning of our growth years and our distribution grew to 20 states.
We purchased another warehouse to hold our growing inventory.

In 1995, we acquired a 150,000 sf. ft. facility in Cicero, IL. We added sales and marketing and began distributing Middle Eastern groceries to mainstream retailers across the United States.

In addition to the Cicero warehouse, we expanded our distribution network by procuring warehouses in both New Jersey and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Today we import and distribute over 3000 items across all of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

In February, 2023, Ziyad Brothers acquired Vintage Food Corporation, a leading distributor of branded Turkish, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European food and beverage products. With this new partnership, Ziyad expands its product portfolio to over 3000 products to continue to offer consumers a high quality, delicious assortment of international products. Nassem Ziyad remains as the company’s Executive Chairman.