Meet Tarek Elbanna | Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tarek Elbanna and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tarek, why did you pursue a creative career?
As the founder of my own company, i had a vision of creating something that can accurately represent my Palestinian identity while bringing people together. The purpose of founding Pistachè was instilling the flavors of my people into all my pastries and creating a unique experience for my customers while staying true to the grand vision of representation. The purpose behind my career path is the desire to be remembered as a creator rather than a name on an employer’s payroll and leaving a legacy of success and innovation.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I originally come from an athletic background. being raised in Beirut i was obsessed with football and wanted to play for Penn State in college. To achieve that goal i started training at a young age and in 2018 i became the youngest ever Lebanese National champion in powerlifting. from there i proceeded to prioritize my academic career and accepted a scholarship to study biology at the Lebanese American University where i also played varsity rugby. In an unfortunate turn of events, Lebanon had a revolution in late 2019 and was followed by the Covid lockdown in 2020 and most tragically the Beirut Explosion on August 4 of that year that changed the trajectory of my life. Throughout that time, my passion for baking started growing and i started my first baked goods startup with a close friend and named it Butter Oasis. However, with the crisis looming we always needed to find new ways to get to our customers and to keep the quality of our pastries at a standard we were content with so we started making our own ingredients. Most notably, I would buy whole milk and make my own cream cheese and i would mix sugar with molasses to make brown sugar. For deliveries, we would use bicycles since we had a gas crisis and we would bake at each others houses since access to electricity was limited. The purpose was to keep the business going despite the tough economy we were in and that was crucial in teaching me how to deal with rising issues here in my business with Pistachè. Those conditions although tough at the time, gave me an edge over every business i had to compete with since i had to solve problems and think out of the box every single day to be able to keep my business afloat. From all this, i think the most important lesson i learned was to take everything one step at a time and have a short memory when it comes to mistakes. I recall my first farmers market event in Burleson with Pistachè i only sold 40$ worth of pastries and it had me question whether i was actually cut for it or not. After that the best thing i did was make adjustments to my menu and focus on the next Saturday and move on as if nothing happened. To put simply, the biggest key to my success is ” learn your lesson and move on”

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If we were in Fortworth, i would start with a morning coffee from Summer Moon. We would then go on a trail near the trinity river and enjoy the exciting nature there. Afterwards, we would visit the stockyards to get a real Texas experience and compete on who can stay on the mechanical bull the longest. For lunch, i would do Torchy’s Tacos and have them try the brushfire chicken taco for some Texas heat. We could then visit Clearfork and pass by Amorino gelato for their unique gelato experience. Other spots i would go to near the Dallas area for coffee would be Qamaria Yemeni coffee whom deliver a unique experience by serving their signature golden tea in a kettle over a candle to keep it warm in a Yemeni style aesthetic which gives an incredible experience. My personal recommendation would be the Pistachio latte with oat milk. the contrast between both compliment each other incredibly well.

From there we would drive to Dallas and make a short stop at trinity groves to walk along the bridge overlooking Dallas. We would then go to Terry Black’s BBQ for a true texas experience and later go to Klyde Warren Park to overlook the Dallas skyline at night.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

I would like to shoutout my brothers who look up to me as their role model and give me a reason to succeed every day. Also my sisters that pushed me to keep going every time i thought of giving up and letting go. Shoutout to my aunt Stephanie who gave me her kitchen to try new recipes and leave her all the dishes. And a special shoutout to all the friends that cheered me on and went out of their way to get on calls when they didn’t have to and give me the business advice to keep my business going.

Instagram: Pistache.tx