At the Baiz Fresh Foods in Mesa, the smell of chicken roasting on a spit greets customers as they walk in. A restaurant occupies one corner of the market, serving up kebabs, hummus plates and falafel. Rows of pistachios, almonds and walnuts gleam behind a counter in the bulk nut section.
One worker offers samples of freshly made labneh and feta, and another weighs out cuts of meat, from goat leg to lamb tongue.
Zoubayda Merhie perused the deli section with her young daughter. She started shopping at Baiz Market over a decade ago at the original location in downtown Phoenix on 20th Street just south of Roosevelt Street. Back then, it was one of the few places where she could get everything she wanted — halal meat, fresh bread, snacks from Lebanon — in one trip, unlike at other, smaller markets…