 The restaurant's logo, a tent with openings on all four sides, recalls the tent of Abraham, the Jewish paragon of hospitality whose tent was open to all comers.Beginning in 2009, the worsening recession prompted the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty to ally with Masbia, resulting in the opening of additional free restaurants in Williamsburg (opened November 2009), Midwood (opened November 2009), and Rego Park, Queens (opened March 2010).The new locations increased Masbia's overall patronage by 300%.