For Carleton Drive residents Adele and Licha Fayad, their new restaurant, Laziz Lebanese Cuisine, is truly a family affair.  “We’ve lived in Mt. Lebanon over 16 years.  I always wanted to do something for the family and myself,” said Adele.

It was Adele’s sister, who lives on Washington Road, who noticed a vacancy in the Executive Building where Arancini House used to be and thought it would be the perfect place for her sister to open her own restaurant, specializing in Lebanese cuisine.

Licha and their three sons, Licha Jr., Antwan and Joey, all chip in, but it’s Adele who does most of the cooking. On any given day you’ll find moussaka, lamb shanks, red lentil soup, grape leaves, gyros, baked pita and falafel on the menu.  There’s also baba ghannoooj, vegetable plates, chicken, steak and fish dishes and something called sleek, a mixture of spinach, black-eyed peas, bulgur wheat, and caramelized onions. “Everything we make is tasty, and people enjoy it.  And fresh, homemade,” Adele pointed out.

The Fayads admit running a restaurant is challenging. “You have to be here on time, prepare the food, be ready for customers. You have to put in a lot of time, especially if you own it.  You’re not going to have holidays,” Licha said. He speaks from experience, having been in the restaurant business for 30 years as a sous chef at LeMont on Mt. Washington.

The Fayad family lived on Mt. Washington before moving to Mt. Lebanon, after hearing good things about the school district.

Their restaurant’s name means delicious in Arabic, and that’s exactly what the Fayads try to serve up every day, using the recipes and dishes they used to eat back home.

Laziz, located at 615 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon is open Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  GrubHub and online ordering is available.