WESTLAND, Mich. — When La Hookah Lounge first opened two weeks ago on Ford Road in Westland between Wayne and Wildwood Roads, passers-by didn’t know what to make of it.

Most thought it was a hangout spot for smoking hookah only, which shied many possible customers away.

But once people started coming in and seeing that they had Arab and American food as well, word began to spread. Then, owner Mohamed Kassem took another important step that would bring in the customers. He put up a large banner outside advertising that La Hookah Lounge had all the favorites: hummus, chicken shawarma and fattoush. Now, business is good.

Kassem, a Ford Motor Company retiree from Dearborn known among friends as Abu Ihab, founded the restaurant for a simple reason: to bring Middle Eastern food favorites to a city that had previously been missing them.

“We wanted to bring Arabic food and to spread out community, to get more business so more people know about our culture,” said Kassem.

Westland has two other small Middle Eastern restaurants, but one is located in Westland Mall and the other is on the edge of town near Livonia, far away from most customers.

La Hookah Lounge bridges the gap by providing fast, quality home-cooked Middle Eastern food at reasonable prices along with delivery for orders of two or more items.

The restaurant is run by Kassem and his four kids, who were all excited to help their father build up a brand new business.

The plan was originally for it to be more of a hang-out place to smoke hookah, hence the name, but Kassem wanted it to be more of a restaurant, which led to the compromise.

Over 12 flavors of hookah are available and customers can smoke out front on a small patio table or in the restaurant, where ventilation is provided.

The menu features most of the Middle Eastern favorites but also American fare like sandwiches, French fries, and more. Smoothies and fruit cocktails are also popular.

Kassem has seen a lot of customers coming in to try food they might not have considered eating before his restaurant came to town.

“A lot of people will come in for (regular American dishes) and then try the schawarma or the hummus, you know?” he said.

Kassem isn’t in the business to get rich, just to spread his family’s love of good food to a community that didn’t have a whole lot of Arabic food choices to begin with.

“My goal is really to make a good life for myself and my kids and to make everybody happy. We treat everybody with respect here,” he said.