Ummi Dee's Burger Bistro offers fresh food in North Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Ummi Dee's Burger Bistro is bringing fresh food to North Philadelphia.

Owner Hannah Ahzai described North Philadelphia as a food desert, where fresh ingredients are hard to come by, similar to where she grew up in Southwest Philadelphia.

Her idea for Ummi Dee's was to provide familiar food using fresh never frozen ingredients.

She uses fresh patties for her burger, sources salmon daily for her salmon cheesesteak and uses fresh lettuce, peppers and shrimp in her shrimp egg roll.

The name is inspired by her late mother who lost a battle with cancer 15 days before Hannah opened the restaurant.

"Ummi" is mom in Arabic and "Dee" is short for Debbie Dawson, Hannah's mom.

Hannah also credits her mother with learning to use fresh ingredients in the kitchen, making sure she grew up eating that way. Now she is sharing that idea with the neighborhood.

Hannah is also a practicing Muslim so she makes sure all the food is halal in order to serve her community better.

Ummi Dee's Burger Bistro | Facebook | Instagram

2805 North 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19132