Our Story
Meet the family behind the market
A Family Affair
Food Land Market owner Hana Mutlak grew up in Baghdad, where food, groceries, and bakeries were always a family affair for her. Both her grandmother and mother owned stores there, and she and her brothers have fond memories of helping and playing in those stores when they were small children in Iraq. Her mother is a wonderful cook and taught Hana everything about making food.
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Back in Baghdad, Hana studied special education and Arabic history and received degrees in each subject. She taught in the special ed field for four years before war forced her family to flee to Jordan, where they lived for the next ten years. In 2007, Hana and her family came to Boise to continue rebuilding their lives.
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Hana and her family worked together to build their dream store. Food Land Market, is a combination Mediterranean restaurant, grocery store, bakery and coffee shop. “Food has always been my passion,” she says. “And I love being a merchant.
"Opening this store is a way for my family to share our country’s culture and other cultures with Boise. And a big part of the culture is delicious food."
Something for everyone
Food Land Market features baked goods, savory foods and desserts made onsite, as well as Turkish coffees and Halal meats. Visitors can shop for unique items such as roasted watermelon seeds, gum from Jordan, ice cream from the Middle East, and kitchen supplies. Food Land’s products come from all over the world, including Europe, Turkey, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Iran, and India.
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At Food Land Market’s restaurant, customers can order popular Iraqi food like kabobs, falafel, and shawarma, as well as baklava and Turkish coffee.
​A Specialty Market and Restaurant
“Our store is different from any other Iraqi store in the area,” says Hana. “We have frozen foods in a 15-door freezer and fridge, a coffee shop and we make food every day”. Hana has gone to great lengths to bring special products to her store. Long ago she sampled some unforgettable fresh-squeezed orange juice from a hi-tech OJ machine in San Diego. She searched far and wide to find the same machine for her store. She eventually located one in Amsterdam and brought it back to Food Land Market here in the United States.
Food Land International Bistro & Market offers a place for the community to gather, share ideas over a delicious meal or coffee– all while helping grow our local economy.
