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Ziyad Brothers Importing
Nemer Ziyad runs Ziyad Brothers Importing, the largest US importer of Mediterranean foods, and its affiliated family investment office in Cicero, Illinois.
Ziyad Brothers Importing
Ziyad Brothers Importing began as a family-run grocery business serving Chicago's immigrant communities. Over decades, the Ziyad family expanded the operation into a national distribution network supplying specialty Mediterranean and Middle Eastern products to retailers across the United States. The wealth that funds the family's investment activities originates from this operating business, which remains a going concern. The family office invests the operating profits primarily in commercial real estate and private equity. Real estate holdings concentrate on industrial and retail properties in the Midwest, often adjacent to the firm's own distribution footprint. On the private equity side, the office takes minority positions in food and beverage brands that complement its distribution network, as well as opportunistic investments in manufacturing and logistics. Scale and team size are not publicly disclosed. Nemer Ziyad leads the enterprise as President, with other family members active in both the importing business and the investment activities. The Cicero, Illinois headquarters serves as the central hub for both the operating company and the family office. The office's structural differentiator is the tight coupling between an operating business and an investment arm. Because Ziyad Brothers Importing remains a profitable, cash-generating distributor, the family office can source proprietary deal flow in the food sector and diligence those opportunities with operational expertise that a purely financial investor would lack.
General information
Firm type
Single Family Office
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Cicero
Corporate office
Cicero, IL, United States
Principals
Nemer Ziyad
President
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Ziyad Brothers Importing?
Nemer Ziyad, as President of the family enterprise, oversees both the importing business and the family's investment activities. Other family members hold operational and investment roles, but specific titles and decision-making structures are not publicly detailed.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The wealth originates from Ziyad Brothers Importing, a Cicero, Illinois-based company that grew from a single grocery store into the largest US importer and distributor of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food products. The operating business continues to generate cash flow that funds the family's investments.
What does Ziyad Brothers invest in beyond the importing business?
The family office allocates primarily to commercial real estate — with a focus on industrial and retail properties in the Midwest — and to private equity. Its private equity activity concentrates on food and beverage brands, manufacturing, and logistics companies.
Does Ziyad Brothers participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The office is known for direct investments and co-investments rather than acting as a limited partner in third-party funds. Its deal flow is often sourced through relationships in the food and beverage distribution ecosystem.
Is Ziyad Brothers Importing structured as a single family office or an operating business?
It is both. The core entity is an operating food import and distribution business. The investment activities function as a single-family office that deploys the operating profits into real estate and private equity, with no outside capital or third-party clients.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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