Small Town Spotlight: Market owner a vital thread in the fabric of the Inkom community
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INKOM — A town of fewer than 1,000 people, Inkom satisfies its grocery needs at just one local supermarket — Bisharat’s Market.
But Bisharat’s, and its owner Rashid Bisharat bring so much more to the Inkom community than just groceries. For as long as many in the town can remember, Bisharat and his family have been key contributors to the town’s many festive celebrations.
As Mayor Max Shaffer explained, Bisharat donates the majority of, if not all, the food for the Fourth of July breakfast. He is also responsible for the Christmas tree lighting, Santa Claus parade and Easter egg hunt.
“He’s a major contributor (to the town),” Shaffer said. “He’s a really, really incredible member of our community.”
Bisharat moved from Nazareth, Israel all the way to Inkom in 1980. Since then he has grown to love the town and become a pillar of it.
Asked if anyone in Inkom isn’t familiar with him and his work within the community, Bisharat laughed, “Everybody knows me.”
“We love everybody,” he said. “They give really good support to the store, and they’re really nice.”
For the Bisharat family, it was an easy decision to set off down the path of community assistance, particularly around Christmas time — an especially special time of year in Nazareth.
Bisharat takes great pride in bringing some of the celebrations traditional in his birth home to his adopted home. So, each year he organizes a Santa Claus parade, complete with a town Christmas tree lighting ceremony, hot chocolate, cookies and gifts.
“We do this for the kids that need help, we bring Santa to them,” he told EastIdahoNews.com. “We donate money and bring gifts. … it makes it nice for everybody, that’s the joy of our family.”
While playing a visible role in Inkom throughout the year, Bisharat once again rises to the need of the community children on Easter.
According to Shaffer, Bisharat, with some assistance from other local businesses, donates candy and eggs for a massive Easter egg hunt. Families from Inkom along with surrounding towns, like Downey and McCammon, have made it a tradition to celebrate the holiday at the Bisharat-hosted event.
A Facebook post by the Townsend Realty Team, a Real Estate Agency operating in the area, honored Bisharat and his wife Nailah at this year’s Easter egg hunt.
“These two really are the salt of the earth,” the post reads. “The Bisharat Family gives so much to our community and have been putting on the Easter Egg Hunt in Inkom for 15+ years. Boxes upon boxes of Easter eggs that start getting filled right after Valentine’s Day. What a great morning helping set up for the big event.”
Children of all ages continue to enjoy the event, so Bisharat continues to provide it.
“I like to help the kids — mostly, I do it for the kids,” he said.
“I don’t know if there’s an adjective that can describe how important that is for our community,” said Shaffer.
Having known Bisharat for decades, Shaffer added that it is clear his support “comes from the heart.”
“He doesn’t have an obligation to do those sorts of things. … He’s just genuinely interested in bettering the community.”
Along with the festive celebrations, which place Bisharat in clear view of the community, he also admitted to helping others behind the scenes. Inkom families in need of a little help have led to the Bisharat family supporting the town’s 4-H programs, and even donating to the funerals of community members.
As Bisharat explained, the entire town of Inkom has been nothing but supportive of him and his family, and he is happy to do anything he can in return.
He also thanked his family for being so supportive of him — and, themselves, being so willing to be community figureheads.
“They’re just a really incredible family,” Shaffer said.
Small Town Spotlight wants to shine a light on all the good going on in small-town Idaho. If you know of someone or something in one of Idaho’s many small towns that deserve to be featured on Small Town Spotlight, email Kalama@EastIdahoNews.com and include “spotlight” in the subject line.