August 11, 2020 | By Annie Prafcke
Fargo, ND – Brothers Younis Younis and Ahmad Younis own Café Aladdin, a Fargo restaurant that serves Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine. Both brothers were born and raised in Kuwait but came to the US for college, with Younis attending North Dakota State College of Science and Ahmad attending North Dakota State University. They opened their restaurant downtown in 1994 and later added another location at 1609 32nd Ave S. The Younis brothers currently work at both locations along with their sons.
In addition to bringing a sharp decrease in customers, COVID has resulted in increased grocery prices and made it difficult for delivery trucks to cross into North Dakota from Minneapolis, where Younis Younis and Ahmad Younis get most of the food for their restaurant. While they are thankful for online and mobile delivery platforms, these companies also take a large portion of the revenue, resulting in major profit decreases for Café Aladdin.
The Younis brothers closed their downtown location for almost 6 weeks in April to protect customers and employees. While they have since reopened, they have seen fewer customers stop by in recent months.
Maintaining public health is imperative to the owners of Café Aladdin. Employees wear face coverings and they've intensified cleaning. They've also posted signs around their restaurant encouraging customers to maintain a 6-foot distance. Café Aladdin offers curbside pickup so customers can get their food without entering the building.
The Younis brothers consistently dedicate 80+ hours per week between the two locations of their restaurant. Café Aladdin is important to them because it is not only how they earn their livelihood but it is also the result of many years of hard work and dedication. Younis Younis affirms, “This business means so much to me because we started the restaurant to see if it works or not. Now, it’s working and it makes our living.”
Café Aladdin is located at 530 6th Ave N Fargo and 1609 32nd Ave S Fargo. Both locations are open from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday – Friday. They are available for dine-in, pick-up, or delivery through Grubhub, Food Dudes, Uber Eats, DoorDash, Bite Squad, and Postmates.
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