Munir Yameen stated Pak Halal 14 years ago as a hobby. He had retired after working oversees where he spent 28 years working abroad. When the 1,400 square foot space became available, he acquired it. Since opening the grocery store and butcher shop the store has grown to 6,000 sq ft as the Trade Routes Bakery was added. The popularity of the bakery has become a staple for customers, and restaurants looking for the fresh, authentic pita bread.
Munir, the owner, says it is very satisfying to be able to provide an income for the eight families who work for Pak Halal. He remembers the day he had the grand opening for the bakery. The mayor and the head of the local chamber heard his feelings about this and they had said they wished they had 100 local stores like Pak Halal.
At the spry age of 84, Munir calls his daily activities with Pak Halal and Trade Routes, fun. It is very enjoyable to him. It gives him something important to do with his days and his life. The prospect of sitting at home and watching TV is not very appealing to him.
The name of the bakery he credits to his son, Jamiel. Even the bakery was a bit of an unplanned event. The bakery Pak Halal was buying bread from at one point refused to deliver to the store even though he was buying 120 bags from them a day. He found the drive to Missouri everyday took too much time and effort and since they refused to deliver to him, he opened his bakery.
The Trade Routes Pita Bread is a destination item for many of his customers. Many people come in just to buy a few bags of the Pita Bread. The ovens have been designed specifically for the space that Trade Routes occupies. The ovens and the bakers can produce 4,500 pieces an hour. Their dream is to partner with larger stores in the area to deliver their fresh pita bread to. One of their premier resellers is Yummies Choice. They use their pita bread for Yummies Pita Chips!