‘Something from our small hometown’: Palestinian man opens first Middle Eastern nut shop in Columbia Heights

At any time of the day, if a customer enters Columbia Heights’ newest nut shop, the owner welcomes them with a shot of Turkish coffee — a mix of freshly ground light and dark roast coffee with roasted cardamom.

They can then decide to sample from an array of options: a variety of nuts roasted in-house, a warm slice of a Palestinian pastry called knafeh, a dozen kinds of baklava, Turkish delight, or shelves full of kitschy childhood snacks and traditional homeware.

Palestinian owner Mahmoud Rammouni of Maple Grove opened the Golden Nuts, the first Middle Eastern nut shop in Columbia Heights, in mid-April, just before Eid. He drew an immediate crowd, hosting more than 350 people until 2 a.m. The shop has quickly become a late-night destination as one of few Twin Cities bakeries that stays open until midnight on the weekends and 10 p.m. on weekdays. Rammouni hopes to keep the late-night crowd by soon adding seating, more coffee options and ice cream.

The Golden Nuts joins other new late-night businesses such as Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co. in Little Canada.

“I wanted to bring something from our small hometown,” Rammouni said of his hometown in Palestine. “We try to make people taste everything before they buy it. Just to make it welcoming, like, you’re not in a shop, you’re in a home.”

When Sahan Journal met Rammouni at the Golden Nuts a few weeks after it opened, he greeted each customer individually. One customer from Apple Valley, Maggie Daoud, had her Turkish coffee with a sample of knafeh.

“You want to always search for your culture,” Daoud said of supporting the Golden Nuts. “It’s not just about Palestinian, Jordanian, or Iraqi. We like to be one identity.”

Banin Abed came with her mother and sister. The family from Iraq has visited the shop a few times and usually leaves with tea and candy.

“We have that back in our country,” Abed said as she pointed to gummy candy she had been eyeing.

She added that she feels at home not just because of what is sold in the store, but also hearing Arabic songs as she shops.

“What’s different than other places, you’re not going to see Afghan seeds, or Pakistani seeds, or Egyptian seeds,” Rammouni said as he circled the store. “We also have something you’re only going to see in Palestine — watermelon seeds. You peel the shell and eat what’s inside.”

Rammouni works with roughly eight suppliers in Jordan, Palestine, and a few in the United States. He also imports products from Turkey.

“The quality they have, you cannot find it here,” Rammouni said. “You can buy peanuts anywhere in the city, but the peanuts we have taste completely different.”

He said methods for roasting nuts vary across countries in the Middle East. At the Golden Nuts, Rammouni said he seasons the nuts as they roast at a high temperature, rather than sprinkling the seasoning on later.

The flavors range for nuts and seeds. Traditional Palestinian almonds are roasted in salt. But there are also barbecue-flavored nuts, lemon pepper, tomato, chile lemon, and corn flavor — which is sweeter than you would think.

While the daytime crowd was quieter, the shop comes alive in the evening with groups of young friends hanging out over sweets.

It hasn’t been easy for all of the new late-night businesses. Mrs. Dessert & Kumpir, a northeast Minneapolis Turkish cafe, struggled to receive a temporary license to extend hours during Ramadan. Because Muslims fast from dawn to sunset during Ramadan, many Muslim-owned restaurants and coffee shops try to attract business after Muslims break their fast by staying open late.

Rammouni said he has not had any trouble with local city officials over his shop’s late-night hours.

“We got huge support from the Columbia Heights city,” Rammouni said.

Drawing a diverse clientele

Rammouni was born in California, but he grew up in the West Bank. He came to Minnesota in 2015.

Rammouni still has family in the West Bank, but he said they’re living in a village that has been a bit quieter since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.

“It’s not safe, but where we’re at it’s not bad,” he said. “But in general, things are not good. Hopefully, it gets better. But people down there — it’s sad to say it — they’ve gotten used to it.”

Nearly 35,000 people have died in Gaza since October, but the region has been rocked by conflict for decades. The fighting in Gaza has polarized many people in the U.S., leading to protests on a number of college campuses .

“I’m seeing more support than discrimination,” Rammouni said, noting that the shop’s clientele has been very diverse. Many customers are surprised to learn that it’s a Palestinian-owned business upon seeing the framed maps of Palestine hung on the walls behind the cash register.

Rammouni is in the process of developing a seating area at the shop for the summer season. With that, he plans to open earlier to serve coffee in the morning. The shop currently opens at 11 a.m. every day. He also wants to serve ice cream in traditional Middle Eastern flavors, such as pistachio.

Rammouni currently employs 12 people, who are mostly family members. He wishes he could employ more people and support even later hours. He also plans to continue hosting special hours for Eid.

“People aren’t used to a lot of places open until 10 p.m.” Rammouni said. “If it were up to me, I would open every day until midnight.”

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