As a teenager, Mohamed Ahmed El-Sammak sold fuul on the streets of downtown Alexandria. His big break came in 1957 when he took over a humble joint, then called Benyamin, from a local Jewish family. The following six decades were spent perfecting a simple, vegetarian offering that has made the restaurant, now bearing his name, renowned across Egypt. The restaurant is packed day and night with punters hungry for fuul iskandarani (mashed fava beans topped with tahini and finely chopped tomato and cucumber), shakshoukah (egg scrambled with tomato, onion and cumin) and masqa‘ah (an aubergine and tomato casserole). But local families, tourists and businesspeople were left wondering whether the legendary establishment had had its time. The shutters have been down since the start of the month and a notice, signed by the founder, made the mysterious announcement that the ‘company’s contract had ended’. Sawsan El-Sammak, the daughter of the proprietor and a partner in the business, promised the restaurant’s long history did not end here. ‘The partnership contract between me, my father and three sisters on the one side and our cousin (Mohamed Ahmed’s niece) on the other, reached its…
