Kansas City's hummus king brings together his entire family for Baba's Pantry

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.