New York ( CNN ) -- When chef and food aficionado Ali El Sayed opened the Kebab Café in Astoria , New York City , some 24 years ago , few there had even heard of Egyptian cuisine . He was the first to open an Egyptian business on Steinway Street , a bustling neighborhood in the borough of Queens , and a small-business hub now known as `` Little Egypt . '' It 's long been a home to immigrants -- first Germans , then Italians and Greeks , and most recently , Arabs . Almost half of Queens businesses are minority owned and together they bring in an average of $ 7 billion annually . While it typifies the growth of many American neighborhoods , Little Egypt also boasts one of the most diverse populations in the United States , according to recent census results . Foreign-born residents in the borough come from over 100 different nations . El Sayed embraces the new immigrants he 's seen settle here in his 40-plus years in Astoria . `` ( The ) neighborhood it changes because if a neighborhood does n't change it means it 's a dead neighborhood , '' he said . And this neighborhood has certainly changed . From selling hookah pipes , to selling Islamic clothes , recently arrived merchants from North Africa have found ways to set-up shop . The U.S. government estimates that 60,000 Egyptian Americans live in the tri-state area of New York , New Jersey and Connecticut , with more than 21,000 of them in New York City . Merchants here are n't just at the whim of shifting tastes and the demands of new arrivals . Like business owners everywhere , they 're also susceptible to changes in the national economy . El Sayed 's brother , Moustafa Abdel Rahman , is chef at the Mombar Restaurant across the road . He knows first hand the perils of change . `` You know the recession affects everybody -- the recession , 9/11 all these things ... the snow affects this business , '' he said . For him , as for many of the immigrants who pass through here , less income has far-reaching consequences . Many merchants in Little Egypt work with one goal in mind -- to support the families they left behind . Nile Deli owner Hesam Makhlos has relatives in Egypt who depend on him . `` A lot of people support his family back home , '' said Makhlos . `` At least if you send like $ 100 a month to support your family , if you have a wife over there or if you have a sister or a mother . A lot of people need help . '' And they depend on each other here too , El Sayed explained . `` We believe that money goes around and we want to take care of our neighborhood and our merchants , '' he said . El Sayed practices what he preaches , shopping daily in the local markets to stock his restaurant 's kitchen . Supporting the neighborhood is not his only impetus . Immigrants with common origins often have common ideals . Mohamed Zohny is the owner of the Islam Fashion store . He prefers doing business with other Muslims in Little Egypt . `` This is only Halal money , like for example , there is no liquor , no ham , no pork , nothing ; everything is 100 % . I know it is Halal , '' he said .
Steinway Street , in Astoria , New York City , is known as `` Little Egypt '' The area has long been a home to immigrants , including Germans , Italians and Greeks . Many merchants there work to support their families in Egypt . As in the rest of the United States , traders in Little Egypt have been hit by the recession .