A family-run, third-generation Middle Eastern bakery in Brooklyn will expand to Newark in the coming months, after receiving more than $9.9 million in grants, loans and a bond from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
Damascus Bakery first started making pita breads in downtown Brooklyn in 1930 and now bakes pizza crusts and gourmet flatbreads, and distributes its products nationwide. Many of the wraps at Starbucks and Costco use Damascus bread, said Ed Mafoud, who owns the bakery with his brother David.
But demand is outpacing their 20,000-square-foot facility in Brooklyn, and Damascus has spent the last four years considering additional sites throughout New York, New Jersey, including Secaucus, and Pennsylvania. Last week, the bakery closed on a 117,000-square-foot facility near Newark Liberty International Airport, Mafoud said.
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