The falafel artist
Walid Hreich supplies Adlershof with Oriental dishes
Some of his customers now come all the way from Köpenick. Some as far as Tempelhof. And so, it is safe to say that, over the course of three years, this simple food stall in front of the Centre for IT and Media has risen to a certain fame. Surely, his online ratings also have something to do with it. More than one comment reads “Best falafel in Berlin”. The guests also praise the owner – as “very”, or even “extremely friendly”.
Walid Hreich set up his mobile gourmet temple on the corner of Albert Einstein and Magnusstrasse in August 2017. Initially, the outcome of this experiment was uncertain. “I have many professions,” says Hreich. When he first came to Berlin 24 years ago, he worked as a painter and a glazier, a delivery driver, co-owned a restaurant at Schlesisches Tor, and has a cab license. His real passion, however, has always been cooking. Chopping, kneading, seasoning, mixing, frying – always trying new flavour variations. Three years ago, he turned this into a business model. It’s called “Falafel Saida”, after the city Hreich was born in 53 years ago.
According to him, Saida, or Sidon, as the Phoenicians called it, is the falafel stronghold of Lebanon. It’s the best you can get, he says. When Hreich thinks of his childhood, he thinks of his mother standing in the kitchen frying the crispy little balls. Hreich comes from a Palestinian family, who lived in Safed until 1948, which is now Northern Israel. Why did he leave Lebanon? “I’m Palestinian. There is no work. Lebanon is difficult.” Two brothers had already moved to Germany. It wasn’t the confusion of war but the want for a better life that made Walid Hreich heed his brother’s advice: Leave Lebanon! Come here! He arrived in Berlin in January 1996.
Adlershof was carefully chosen as the base for his snack shack. He went on Google and found: the place is full of companies and research institutes, i.e. full of customers. He drove down there and liked it. “It’s quiet and relaxed. The people are nice. I like the area.” He did not see himself working as a food stall owner in Kreuzberg or Neukölln, where he lives. An Adlershof-based owner of an Italian food stall told him audition at the WISTA office.
Since then, his workday kicks off every morning at 5am with preparing the fresh falafel mixture. Is it worth the effort? “I’m happy. It started as an experiment. But it worked.” During lunch breaks during the week, many people queue in front of the stall with its two tables. Hreich is now also starting to understand the culinary preferences of his Adlershof-based clientele. About 80 percent of customers, he estimates, come for the vegetarian options. “For us Palestinians, falafel are a part of our culture,” says Hreich. “We know what we’re doing. But still everybody has their secret.”
By Winfried Dolderer for Adlershof Journal