At Mr. Sweets bakery, owner Michael Shatila prepares all sorts of Middle Eastern desserts like the famous baklava. Shatila started the business 38 years ago in Michigan and moved to Arizona six years ago to be closer to his family.
“Arizona, it's nice weather compared to Michigan and my kids were here studying so I moved here, and we work together,” Shatila says.
He wakes up at five in the morning to prepare an array of desserts with the help of his son, Riad. They make fresh baklava every day and try to use local ingredients to make the nutty and syrupy dessert.
Shatila's specialty is Lebanese baklava, which is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with simple syrup. This differs from traditional Greek baklava which uses a sweet honey-based syrup with some additional spices.
“When customers try a sample, they say it’s not too sweet. Baklava, like Greek Baklava, is very sweet. This is not too sweet, it's just perfect,” Shatila says. "I had a few customers coming in and they didn’t know what baklava is. I showed them and gave them a sample and they bought a tray."
The location of the bakery is shared with Samir Hermiz who oversees the adjacent restaurant and market. The store has a butcher and an array of Middle Eastern shopping items such as spices, coffee, teas, frozen food items, and snacks like cookies and chips. All three locations are connected, so you can grab a kebab or baklava while you shop around for Turkish tea or Middle Eastern spices.
“We started the bakery and then I started making the restaurant and my friend bought the market. So we opened the wall and make it bigger, a one-shop place... the grocery, the sweets, the whole thing” Shatila says.
Mr. Sweets offers over 30 different kinds of baklava, with different flavors like pistachio and walnut, and shapes ranging from the classic triangles, to round nests, and filo shaped into logs. The bakery also sells cookies, cakes, ice cream, Turkish delights, and meat and cheese pies.
Shatila’s baklava is served at Mediterranean restaurants around the Valley including Pita Jungle. Mr. Sweets also ships nationally, and orders can be placed online or over the phone.
Shatila dreams of expanding his business with a second location in either Tempe or Scottsdale. Until then, head to the North Phoenix bakery for a crunchy, golden treat.
"Everything we do here, I do it. If I don't like it, I don't put it out. If employees make a mistake with something, I will not sell it, I’ll throw it away because I like to keep consistent,” Shatila says. “We get excited making the baklava because we do it from our heart."
Mr. Sweets Pastries
3502 West Greenway Road, #1 313-995-5105
mrsweetspastries.com
