Located at the River Park Shopping Center is a special place where olive oil tasting and home decor come together. Zaytoona, a Palestinian-owned store, invites the community to a unique space filled with culture and tradition.
Summer Rasheed, the owner of Zaytoona, uses her products to share knowledge about her Palestinian roots. “I am a first generation Palestinian-Amercian,” Rasheed said. “My parents both came to America at a young age, but made sure their children had a bond with Palestine.”
When coming up with the idea for Zaytoona, Rasheed accredited the idea to her lifestyle growing up. “I grew up with a very strong love for my heritage and culture, and the one thing that stands out the most to me, is the indigenous olive trees,” she said. “So it just makes sense that olive oil would be the front and center star of my shop.”
Olive trees are indigenous to Palestinian land, some dating back 5,000 to 7,000 years. Rasheed said that many families take great pride and honor to watch over and care for these precious trees. These trees are passed on from generation to generation, and not only is it a symbol of peace but it is a powerful symbol of Palestine rooted in their land.
During her childhood, Rasheed’s family back in Palestine harvested their olive trees every year and pressed the olives to make the most delicious cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. “We would wait anxiously for the delivery to come from overseas,” she said. “Every meal would consist of our Palestinian olive oil and nothing would be the same without it.”
Fast forward to adulthood, Rasheed would meet and marry her husband, who was born and raised in Palestine. He came into the country as a teenager and went through his own struggles adapting to a new country and starting his own career. Today, they are business partners and own Zaytoona, which translates to olive in Arabic.
“We share the same love and respect for our country and we teach our children everything we know about our heritage,” Rasheed said.
When creating Zaytoona, Rasheed always loved the idea of starting something from scratch and calling it her own. Her father was a businessman and after watching him delegate his business as she grew up made her dream of having her own boutique someday.
“We love to support local,” Rasheed said. “So it was an easy decision to source our olive oil from the Central Valley and other areas of California.”
“Being able to hand select each and every item for our shop is so special to me,” she continues. “Whether it’s olive oil, gourmet food, bath, body, or home decor, I feel such a responsibility to my customers to source the best items out there and it’s such a great feeling to see the response and excitement when they see what our store has to offer.”
Rasheed said she hopes Zaytoona brings everybody the peace and love that she intended to share with the community.
