Said Abulafia grew up in Jaffa as the eldest of five children in a family whose bakery has been part of the city for generations. Founded in 1879, the historic Arab family-owned bakery has served locals, visitors, and families across multiple generations, becoming one of Jaffa’s most recognizable businesses.
After attending a British private Christian school in Jaffa, Abulafia began his career in the M&A department of one of Israel’s largest law firms. While the work exposed him to business strategy and transactions, he found himself drawn back to the family business, where decisions affected real people, real customers, and daily operations.
Today, he helps lead the Tel Aviv–Jaffa bakery, balancing tradition with modern business demands. His work focuses on maintaining the trust that customers have built with the bakery over nearly a century and a half while adapting to changing consumer habits, economic pressures, and operational challenges.
For Abulafia, the greatest lesson in business comes from history itself: businesses endure not because they change the fastest, but because they consistently earn the trust of the people they serve.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My day starts with exercise or a walk before heading to the bakery. Once I’m there, I spend most of my time looking at operations. In a bakery that serves thousands of customers and has been operating for generations, small details matter. I check production, speak with employees, review customer feedback, and deal with supplier issues.
People often think productivity comes from doing more things. I think it comes from paying attention to the right things. If quality drops or customers notice a change in consistency, that matters more than any meeting on my calendar.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I start by asking whether an idea will improve the customer experience or make operations more reliable. If the answer is no, I usually leave it alone.
The bakery has survived since 1879 because every generation made practical decisions rather than chasing trends. When we make changes, they tend to be gradual. We test them, measure the results, and see whether they actually improve the business.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I think people are becoming more interested in authenticity. Customers want places with real history, real stories, and real connections to their communities.
A bakery that has been part of Jaffa for nearly 150 years can’t compete by being the newest thing in town. What we can offer is something genuine, and I think more people are beginning to appreciate that.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Paying attention to the details. In hospitality, small things become big things very quickly. A customer notices a change in quality before you do. A supplier issue becomes a production issue. I’ve learned that consistency comes from noticing problems while they’re still small.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Spend less time worrying about making the perfect decision and more time learning from experience. Most lessons come from doing, not planning.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
I think stability is more important than growth.
Many people see growth as the ultimate measure of success. I think businesses should first build something that can last. When you look at companies that survive for generations, stability usually comes before expansion.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Listen carefully to repeat customers.
The people who come back week after week will tell you almost everything you need to know about your business. They notice changes. They notice improvements. They notice mistakes.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I simplify. I focus on the next practical task instead of the entire problem. Going for a walk also helps. Some of my best solutions have come when I step away from the situation for a short time.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Focusing on long-term relationships instead of short-term transactions.
Many of our customers have been visiting the bakery for years. Some families have been coming for multiple generations. When you focus on earning trust over time, growth becomes a byproduct of those relationships.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
Early on, I believed that changing more things would automatically improve the business. I introduced too many changes at once. It created confusion and made it harder to evaluate what was actually working.
The lesson was that successful businesses evolve carefully. Improvement is important, but consistency matters too.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Study businesses that have survived for decades instead of only studying businesses that grew quickly.
There are valuable lessons hidden inside businesses that have remained relevant for generations.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Notion. I use it mostly for organizing ideas, tasks, and operational notes. I keep it simple. The goal is to stay organized without creating another system that requires constant attention.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant. I appreciate its focus on long-term thinking and decision-making. Many of the ideas apply whether you’re running a technology company or a bakery that has been around for nearly 150 years.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
Chef. It captures something important about food businesses. Success often comes from doing simple things extremely well and caring about the experience you create for customers.
Key learnings
- Long-term success is built by earning customer trust repeatedly, not by chasing constant reinvention.
- Businesses that survive for generations often prioritize stability before growth.
- Listening to repeat customers provides some of the most valuable business insights.
- Small operational improvements compound over time and create lasting results.
- Authenticity and consistency remain powerful competitive advantages in an increasingly crowded marketplace.