Why Monterey Halal Market is a locals’ favorite.

When you walk into Monterey Halal Market in Seaside, things will appear slightly different than in late 2021. “We had a Super Bowl party here,” owner Mike Bay says, by way of explaining the presence of a few dining tables conveniently located under a TV set. Bay runs this Middle Eastern grocery store/halal meat depot/restaurant just off Fremont Boulevard. “I rooted for the Bengals, but they made a mistake that cost them the game,” he adds.

The store specializes in halal beef, lamb and chicken meat (that is, meat that is permissible according to Islamic dietary rules) that you can buy and prepare yourself – or try Bay’s magic. With tables around, now you can eat your gyro wrap or a shawarma platter while sitting comfortably; the outside tables have been around for a while. Sitting definitely helps with handling generous portions offered at the market, one of the things the locals love about this spot. The other thing is the generous prices – the most expensive option on the tiny, chalk-written menu is $14.99. A dozen falafel? $8.99.

The store is small and packed with canned and dried food such as bulgur, fava beans and tahini, spices in bulk, olives and international sweets. Closer to the counter, one can find piles of fresh pita bread and baked goods – if you are lucky enough to know that Thursday is bread day.

“Sometimes the bread lasts only a couple of hours,” Bay says. “They just come and get it,” he adds in a serious tone as if he is describing a horde of bread-hungry zombies.

Before Bay, who is Lebanese, took over in 2018, the store was run by a Pakistani man, who cooked once a week and was struggling with the location. “I put this menu up and never looked back,” Bay says. “People were asking me to bring gyro, and I was hesitant at first, but it worked very well.”

He cooks his mother’s recipes, his experience deepened by over 10 years as a trained Hilton chef. But the base is hers, he says.

“In Lebanon when I was a kid, like other kids I loved to hang around my mom, to taste this, taste that,” he says. The Lebanese Civil War that started in 1975 made him leave his native country.

His falafel recipe is a secret, as is his tzatziki sauce. “The most famous sauce in the Monterey area,” he says with a laugh. “They want to buy it from me and open a factory, but no – it’s a secret. People tell me they cannot find anywhere else the quality of food that I provide.”

Before taking over the store, Bay used to manage restaurants in Salinas and Modesto simultaneously. “It killed me,” he jokes. “It’s too much for one person.”

But these days, Bay is (happily) overwhelmed too. He offers food catering as well and runs everything himself. One day he had a large group that came for the U.S. Open, he says, and the lady in charge showed up with her own food ideas. When she saw what he had on the menu, she decided it was better than what she wanted. Bay travels to San Francisco, sometimes to LA, to restock with fresh supplies every week.

“The supply chain is a big problem,” he says, of doing business in early 2022. “The goods are sitting in the ports, everybody promises they will send it to you, and nothing comes.” He says he is forced to visit his friends who run similar stores in the area to handpick items he can’t find anywhere else. “You have to do it,” he explains. “You can’t tell people over and over again ‘I don’t have it,’ because they will go somewhere else.”

Covid almost killed Monterey Halal Market, Bay says. For weeks, he would make less than $50 per day. He praises his landlord who was very patient with the rent when times were hard.

Eventually, things got better. “Covid slowed down, and the business jumped up. I was on the brink of death [economically], but the minute the green light hit, everybody started coming. This year, I’m looking at really good business.”

Now he is grateful and busy, and anxious to take a break and hire help. “The locals have saved me,” he says. “My people from the mosque – they come for the meat, but it’s Seaside that is responsible for the success of this place.”

MONTEREY HALAL MARKET is at 825 Hamilton Ave., Seaside. Open 10am-7pm (to 6pm on Sundays). 392-1100.