Gazala’s Chef and Owner, Gazala Halabi, was born and raised in Daliat el-Carmel, a small Druze village of 15,000 in northern Israel. She first came to New York City in 2001; a bold move for a young woman of her tradition-centered culture. She married and had two beautiful children, and founded a catering business with the culinary skill and knowledge handed down to her from her family and ancestors. Her clients’ reaction to Druze cuisine was overwhelmingly positive, inspiring her to open her tiny Ninth Avenue outpost, Gazala Place. It became a cult favorite—but 22 seats couldn’t satisfy the demand. August 2010 saw the opening of Gazala’s: its owner’s dream, in a stately landmark building on Columbus Avenue.