Posted on Aug 14, 2022
Kansas City's hummus king brings together his entire family for Baba's Pantry
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Chef Yahia Kamal started selling his dips and spreads around Kansas City in 2004. When Kamal opened his Palestinian American delicatessen in July 2021, his children saw an opportunity to embrace their family's food and history.
Chef Yahia Kamal unlocks the door to Baba’s Pantry, a Palestinian-American delicatessen at 1019 E. 63rd St. on the edge of the Brookside neighborhood and the intersection with Troost Avenue.
“Hello, my friend!” he says with an ear-to-ear grin that crinkles the corners of his eyes.
Chef Kamal used the same greeting to stop supermarket shoppers careening up and down the aisles in their tracks. Long before the velvety spread he was hawking became a ubiquitous party dip, his disarming smile eased many into sampling their first bite of hummus.
Chef Yahia Kamal unlocks the door to Baba’s Pantry, a Palestinian-American delicatessen at 1019 E. 63rd St. on the edge of the Brookside neighborhood and the intersection with Troost Avenue.
“Hello, my friend!” he says with an ear-to-ear grin that crinkles the corners of his eyes.
Chef Kamal used the same greeting to stop supermarket shoppers careening up and down the aisles in their tracks. Long before the velvety spread he was hawking became a ubiquitous party dip, his disarming smile eased many into sampling their first bite of hummus.
Kansas City's hummus king brings together his entire family for Baba's Pantry
Posted from kcur.org
Palestine
Food/Chow
Culture
Kansas City
Tradition
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Finish the dream'
While Hannah was still in high school, she worked for her dad sampling hummus in grocery stores.
“I don’t know how he did it,” she says. “He’d somehow grab a person and talk to them for five minutes, and he’d have sold them a case. Maybe it’s that smile? How he blushes? His goofy laugh?”
Hannah, who manages the business paperwork and social media accounts, sees her primary role as the “diplomat” of the family, the one who can help her siblings present a new idea to her father in a way that makes it palatable.
“Like all families, we have our little pushbacks and tiffs, but I feel like my dad is finally being heard, and he’s never been more creative,” she says. “We tried to push alcohol. That was too far for him. Everything else he’s been very open to.”
Future expansion plans include a Palestinian bakery and community event space next door. The oven, which has already been ordered from Jordan, will allow Yasmine to expand her contributions of baklava and knafeh.
Inspired by Black Lives Matter, Omar and Kamal are keenly interested in adding music and events to foster community engagement and promote causes they are passionate about.
Meanwhile, Chef Kamal is eager to “finish the dream” — but, this time, with the best partners a baba could ask for."
..."Finish the dream'
While Hannah was still in high school, she worked for her dad sampling hummus in grocery stores.
“I don’t know how he did it,” she says. “He’d somehow grab a person and talk to them for five minutes, and he’d have sold them a case. Maybe it’s that smile? How he blushes? His goofy laugh?”
Hannah, who manages the business paperwork and social media accounts, sees her primary role as the “diplomat” of the family, the one who can help her siblings present a new idea to her father in a way that makes it palatable.
“Like all families, we have our little pushbacks and tiffs, but I feel like my dad is finally being heard, and he’s never been more creative,” she says. “We tried to push alcohol. That was too far for him. Everything else he’s been very open to.”
Future expansion plans include a Palestinian bakery and community event space next door. The oven, which has already been ordered from Jordan, will allow Yasmine to expand her contributions of baklava and knafeh.
Inspired by Black Lives Matter, Omar and Kamal are keenly interested in adding music and events to foster community engagement and promote causes they are passionate about.
Meanwhile, Chef Kamal is eager to “finish the dream” — but, this time, with the best partners a baba could ask for."
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