In Opening Weeks, Business at Bryn Mawr's Crust is Promising

Even in a down economy, one Bryn Mawr restaurant owner was able to open a second business right next door on Lancaster Avenue.

Tony Alidjani opened about seven years ago, and . Alidjani, who was born in Tehran, Iran, before moving and growing up in South Philadelphia, worked his way up in the restaurant business, from bussing to serving to managing to owning, said his son and restaurant manager Brandon Alidjani.

And at , it seems so far, so good, he said. The secret to their success, Brandon Alidjani insists, is consistently quality food.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Brandon Alidjani said of his father. “His philosophy is always, ‘give quality food and people will come back…’ His focus is on making sure the food is made very well. He just knows what people like, and that’s what helps him a lot.” 

The food at both Mediterranean Grill and Crust is of Persian influence, which also makes it different, he said. 

Their offerings are on the healthy side, Alidjani said. At Crust, the pizzas are made fresh to order, they make their own flatbread for the sandwiches, and they also have salads. Their food is mostly locally sourced, they serve freshly baked potato wedges instead of French fries, and they recently started serving gluten-free dough.

And while there are other pizza places nearby, Alidjani said they had envisioned a more gourmet sit-down restaurant. They are also expecting to offer delivery within the week.

“I think any kind of business is difficult to survive,” said manager Sonia Dawkins. “Just having strong workers and an owner that believes in the business and managers who support the business—we’re sticking together and making it thrive.”