Life is good for Greg Santone and Imad Sakakini; make that night life.
Known to his friends as Dino, Sakakini recently opened his third Layla”™s Falafel restaurant, using ethnic cuisine and late hours to grow in a down industry.
Sakakini”™s new location is on Main Street in downtown Stamford, next to another late-night eatery, Garden Catering.
Layla”™s plans to stay open until 4 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays serving the patrons of the neighboring bars. Sakakini said he is currently looking for a location on Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains to mirror the model he is applying on Main Street in Stamford. According to Sakakini, location is the key for late-night business.
Santone, owner of Rocky’s Delicatessen in Millwood, Â a veteran of serving up late-night food, echoed Sakakini”™s sentiment of the overnight market.
“My day shift has softened just a tiny bit, but my overnight shift has continued to grow even in the downturn,” Santone said.
The shift, which begins at 10 p.m. and goes until 5:30 a.m. and makes up about 17 percent of Santone”™s business, has grown by 8 percent.
“It”™s growing when the other shifts are flat,” Santone said. “That”™s year to year. When I started the shift 17 years ago, I thought of it as a dispensable shift, a time to get cleaning and prep done. I didn”™t anticipate the business that we”™re doing now, though it took some time to catch on.”
Santone said location for a late-night dining spot is huge and not every business is suited for those hours.
“It helps the beginning of the day shift,” Santone said. “You”™re up and running anytime someone walks through the door; there”™s never a grill that”™s not hot yet. You”™re always hot.”
Santone expects more growth through the spring and summer months, which are more conducive to business with his large parking lot and lack of seating.
Santone said he has a core customer base of about 100 for the late-night hours including  police, firefighters, doctors, nurses, correction officers and highway construction workers.
Santone said when there isn”™t school or college the following day, Rocky”™s business is bolstered by another 150 to 200 people.
“The bulk of that business is the young people, out at night socializing,” Santone said. “We enjoy a good reputation. I happen to have a great location, being on Route 100 and we have ample parking.”
Santone began working at Rocky”™s at the age of 10 in 1970 and bought the deli when he was 20.
“I”™m aware of businesses that advertise 24 hours, but you”™ll go to the door and it”™ll be locked,” Santone said. “I said I was going to do it reliably and that I have done. For 17 years that door has not been locked for one second; that”™s power outages, storms, Christmas, New Years, 9/11, that door has stayed open. People know that if they drive up here, I”™ll be open.”
According to Santone, there is a market to be tapped in the late-night business, provided the owner who does it, does it right.
“We have not felt the economy,” Sakakini said. “Our food is not expensive; anybody can afford this food. We don”™t have the high-ticket items and the food”™s genuine.”
Layla”™s, named after Sakakini”™s wife, also has locations on Highridge Road in Stamford and on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield.
“Our clients know what they are looking for and keep coming back; our following has reached far beyond the immediate geography,” said Sakakini. “Our menu is rich with vegetarian offerings and reflects the fact that our home meals are more than half vegetarian.”
Sakakini, once the owner of a Subway sandwich franchise in Bridgeport, regularly made off-the-menu falafels that acquired a quick following.
The Palestinian-born restaurateur opened Layla”™s Falafel in 2000 and the second location in 2005, both of which do not have late-night hours.
 “When you drink you want falafel, it”™s like McDougal Street in Manhattan,” said Sakakini. “This is real food; it”™s not processed food. It”™s very authentic; it”™s very healthy. This food is the oldest food in the world; civilization started where this food started.”
