Sultan’s hopes to hook westsiders with authentic Mediterranean cuisine

When west Lansing restaurant Zaytoon closed last summer, owner Samy Aburashed didn’t want the area to suffer a loss of quality Mediterranean food.

Luckily, his uncle Bassam Mahmoud, owner of Sultan’s Mediterranean Cuisine in East Lansing, was willing to take the wheel.

“Samy couldn’t work anymore,” Mahmoud said, “and the person who owns the building is his brother. They didn’t want the building or the business to become something else, so they called me.”

Mahmoud hadn’t been planning to open a second location, but since it was for family — and since the building was already a Mediterranean restaurant, reducing the cost of setting up shop — he accepted.

Two weeks after opening, he’s glad he took up the torch.

“It seems very promising so far,” he said.

Customers who frequent his East Lansing location have been coming out to support the westside restaurant, along with curious former Zaytoon regulars, he said, noting that fans of Zaytoon will find a similar experience at Sultan’s.

“Samy, the old owner of Zaytoon, worked with me for seven years in East Lansing before he opened it,” Mahmoud said. “So, he learned the food from me.”

Though the dishes are roughly the same, he said, Mahmoud is laser-focused on authenticity in the new location.

“Most of the Middle Eastern food in the area, people make it with an American twist. I make it the way it is originally, so that’s what makes me different from others,” he said.

In addition to serving new dine-in and carryout customers, Mahmoud said he foresees the westside location becoming “a hub for catering,” something that’s been successful at the original location.

“I have more than 30 years of experience with catering for parties, weddings, offices, conferences, all of it,” Mahmoud said. “So, I’m good at it, and I know how things go. And I have high-quality food for catering.”

He said opening the new restaurant has been an unexpected challenge: Teaching an all-new staff the intricacies of authentic Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine has led him to work “very long hours.” However, even with the new staff, Mahmoud is confident that Sultan’s is already providing the most authentic Mediterranean experience on the west side.

“I promise west Lansing to provide something unique and authentic, and I urge all of them to come by and just try me one time,” he said. “I’m sure when they come, they’ll be hooked.”