Feel Good Friday: Suraya

Located on Frankford Avenue, not far from La Colombe in Fishtown is a restaurant with a unique front to it: big windows dominate the face, which are opened in the summertime to let in the breeze and big letters curl across the black brickwork letting passersby know where to find Suraya.

The Lebanese restaurant is a mainstay in the food critic columns because it offers an option that’s infrequently provided in the food scene of Philadelphia, according to some accounts. The Middle Eastern restaurants throughout the city have garnered a variety of accolades for their food preparation, and Suraya is no different, but what makes the restaurant a unique date night spot is the fact that it has a unique story that melds well with the focus on providing not just an elevated culinary experience, but also a marketplace, a cafe, and an aesthetic that caters to the natural environment around it.

Any restaurant or business can delve into a single facet of this and make it worthwhile for its customers, but let’s get to why Suraya specifically is worth exploring for Feel Good Friday.

When my wife and I went to Suraya to check it off our bucket list, it was just as the sun was setting and evening was beginning, so we got a chance to see Suraya transition from its afternoon atmosphere to its dinner service, and it was striking how completely it transformed. At the front of the house, the area closest to the street, there were people finishing up their light bites and those who were dressed up and wandering the marketplace while waiting for their reservations to be called. The space was awash in light from the large windows that opened onto the street, but as we moved towards our table in the back, the atmosphere shifted to afford more space for shadows and intimacy once patrons take their seat.

Aside from the lighting, the space is decorated in a way that reflects the Lebanese culture that Suraya helps promote. Despite the dim lighting, Suraya is still easy to navigate because the tiles they use to decorate and the other design elements in the space lean into bright colors that can easily make someone feel joy in occupying it while also increasing the warmth of the space during the day.

The business also offers versatility to its customers, making it possible for patrons to access the high quality service and goods that Suraya is known for without having to conform to a specific model, similar to a bazaar. If someone needs to grab and go, enjoy shareable small plates, organize a brunch, host a major event, or grab a cocktail at the end of the night, Suraya has an option that caters to those needs without sacrificing the quality of the experience.

As with most organizations, though, there’s a story behind Suraya that makes it feel even better to support the business. Owners and siblings Nathalie Richan and Roland Kassis chose the name “Suraya” to honor their grandmother, making the award-winning business a family business in more ways than one while also providing an enjoyable experience.

Growth within a business comes when it’s able to deliver more value to its customers than it costs to create it, and that can be done through a variety of avenues: leaders can invest in quality product development that fits a niche in the market, improve marketing and sales efforts, or offer other incentives to increase revenue or reduce expenses within their organization. All of these are valid options to grow a business, and Suraya uses most of them, but there are specific ways that Suraya deploys its resources to grow that can be a helpful template for others.

The vision for Suraya was to create an upscale restaurant, and that requires more than a set of products or services that exceed expectations in terms of quality. Like any story that aims to entertain, it’s important to set the stage properly so customers know what to expect heading into it.

As noted before, Suraya has a unique approach to organizing its space, and that helps convey to the customer the terms of how they should engage with business during the course of the transaction. The design can be described as intentional, conscientious, or culturally mindful, and all of these are certainly true, but they also ensure that the customer feels like they are in a quality establishment by ensuring the materials used to decorate the interior are high quality.

Suraya is undoubtedly a family affair, with the owners using it to give an enjoyable access point to a culturally-rich part of their family history while honoring their beloved grandmother. However, they didn’t make Suraya a Michelin Star-worthy restaurant on their own: they had some help from the team at Defined Hospitality to make their dream a reality.

Family firms have unique advantages because of the way their teams can operate as a cohesive whole without worrying about training and establishing SOPs that everyone complies with. But families also usually have limits to their breadth of expertise, which is why partnering with a group like Defined Hospitality enables teams to grow without having to go through the pains of learning the hard way.

Complementary products and services help businesses grow their share of a customer’s wallet, but it requires a strategic eye for a business to do it effectively, especially when working in low-margin businesses like retail or restaurants.

For Suraya, the combination of marketplace, restaurant, bar, and event space is all tailored to creating a shared experience of the many faces of Lebanese culture. It may not be the first thought someone has to buy a cookbook or kitchen ingredients from the restaurant when going out to dinner, but it works for Suraya because of the way the different experiences work to reinforce their individual elements.

Suraya’s combination of strategic decisions and tailored focus in dedicating resources have allowed them to tell a unique story that resonated with many in the Philadelphia food scene. It’s likely one of the reasons why they garnered the attention of the Michelin Star reviewers and caused such a stir within the local communities, but it’s also what helps make it a unique experience for the people who decide to make a reservation there.

My wife and I took an opportunity to visit because it’s been on our bucket list, but it’s also earned a place on the list we would like to revisit in the future because of how it’s structured every aspect of the environment and menu to support connection. The space’s lighting and decor made it feel intimate, even if you’re sitting in the middle of the dining room, and the food is both delicious and well-adapted to sharing.

So if you’re looking for a business lesson from Suraya, then there’s plenty to chew on. However, if you’re looking for a pleasant night out with friends or a partner, then it’s certainly worth opting for their tasting menu to get a taste of everything Suraya has to offer.