Written by Christie Crawford
Clarksville, TN – We know Clarksville is a blend of cultures due to the influx of military from Fort Campbell, foreign companies investing in Tennessee, and students from abroad studying at Austin Peay State University. With that come goods and services providing for this rich mix of customs, including restaurants and stores catering to this community.
One such place is Salwa, located on Riverside Drive in the old Jodi’s Cabinets building. Owners Dohu and Abe (pronounced A – B) Nasser, have opened their second location of a Middle Eastern store featuring high quality and fresh ingredients for both experienced and novice cooks, and lovers of this cuisine. As Dohu Nasser says, “customers told us, please come to Clarksville as we want a store closer.”
Open for five months, the international store carries fresh halal meat (culture-killed – meaning blood removed and preservative-free), daily baked bread such as pita and naan, as well as sweets such as baklava and knafeh, a Middle Eastern dessert made with phyllo dough and sweet cheese soaked in syrup. Salwa is well-stocked with fresh cheese, eggs, goat milk, and yogurt, as well as spices, grains, and various canned and packaged ingredients for an authentic Middle Eastern meal. And if you’re worried about pricing due to tariffs, you’d be surprised to know that many of the manufacturers are located in the United States.
They even carry the trendy Dubai chocolate, which is an Arab chocolate bar mixed with pistachio and tahini paste. For a less sweet alternative Salwa also serves a Dubai Cup which is a dessert layered with strawberries, pistachio cream, and crispy phyllo dough with melted chocolate on top. Dohu serves as the chef with freshly prepared food available as take-out. Lamb is one of their specialties, and the lamb soup served over rice is a family classic and one I was able to savor.
The Nassers met each other in Michigan, when Jordanian-born Dohu, although having finished her law studies in Jordan, needed to repeat her studies in America. She was two years into American law school when she met Abe.
They met, fell in love, and relocated to California. Abe came to America when he was 10 after his father, a military officer, passed away in the war between Iraq and Kuwait. Abe followed in his father’s footsteps and served as a Marine for eight years at Twentynine Palms. After the Marines, Abe worked as a flooring sub-contractor for Home Depot, and owned a limousine service.
Abe’s brother was in the Air Force, stationed in Gallatin, and the family traveled from California to Tennessee often. It was on one of these trips back to California that changed the Nassers’ lives forever.
In 2019 the family was in New Mexico and had pulled over to check on the status of their RV. An 18-wheeler veered into them, searing their RV in half. Dohu and three of their children were left undamaged, but Abe suffered a massive injury to his leg requiring a 10-hour surgical procedure, and their oldest son suffered a broken shoulder and bleeding on the brain.
Their son has fared well since then, but Abe’s leg forced him to look at other career options. They decided to relocate closer to Abe’s brother and came to Murfreesboro where they opened their first Salwa store.
Salwa is named after their daughter and translates to “Sally” in English. The Nassers emphasize that the business is one that they hope to leave to their children so they can create a legacy and business opportunity for them.
Besides the grocery, future plans include an opening of a small coffee shop/cafe in downtown Clarksville as well as an old-style sit down restaurant attached to the store.
The Nassers emphasize that if there is any food item a customer would like to purchase, he/she can special order on request and have that order filled in a few days time. I encourage you to check out the wonderful options available at Salwa where the Nassers will treat you like family and not only offer cooking advice but will most likely offer up a sample or two of their delicious food.
Salwa is open seven days a week from 9:00am- 7:00pm at 901 South Riverside Drive. Call them at 770.866.5606.
