This month Mission Viejo's biggest Persian restaurant will be joined by a grocery store. The owner of the Mission Viejo destination restaurant will open a new market in August complete with bakery and deli inside the Gateway Center on the corner of Alicia and Via Fabricante.
Apple Ranch Market will be about 7,000 square feet, plus an outdoor patio, said owner Babak Kashkouli.
Hatam will get all of its vegetables from the new grocery store, the owner said. And he expects a big crowd.
"We have customers coming from San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside to have Persian food with us at Hatam, and it’s going to be the same with the bakery," he said.
The deli will serve Persian favorites like eggplant, chicken, potato and mayonnaise salad, dolmas and special omelets, along with American breakfasts. There will also be sandwiches, rotisserie chicken and fresh juice, Kashkouli said.
Although Apple Ranch Market isn't open yet, the owner already expects the bakery to become a destination. He says in six months to a year, the bakery will likely be expanded.
Expect breads, as well as both dry and fresh pastries, Kashkouli said.
Although the market sounds similar to and Ranch Market, Kashkouli says he doesn't intend to compete with them.
"We are not planning to compete with anyone," he said. "We have our own concept. Of course they are selling fruits and vegetables and we’re doing the same thing, but we have other specialties."
