There were no Palestinian restaurants in St. Louis when Amjed Abdeljabbar returned to the area at age 11. The Hazelwood native, who’d moved overseas as a child, is not talking about Middle Eastern food in general but about the specific spices and variations that are unique to Palestinian fare — and he missed it.
“Every country has their own style that’s totally different,” Abdeljabbar says, adding that the specific spices are different and that, at the time, you didn’t see places cooking shawarma or rotisserie chicken like he was used to.
Even now, there aren’t many Palestinian restaurants in the area. While food enthusiasts in the city’s core might point to Medina, which recently opened its third location within the City of St. Louis, Abdeljabbar says he can think of just one: Golden Chicken, which he opened with his uncle, Mahmoud Abed Abualizz, in St. Peters in 2020. But soon, there will be another. The duo is opening a new concept, Mazaj, in the City Foundry Food Hall on Saturday, December 9.
Mazaj will serve a slightly stripped down version of what’s available at Golden Chicken. That will be dishes such as chicken shawarma, falafel, gryo wraps, hummus, kebabs, fries, wings, a lemon mint drink made with a plethora of fresh ingredients and much more. Everything served will be halal.
“A platter with everything on it is my personal favorite,” he says. “Well, just because I ate it growing up — chicken shawarma or falafel — overseas when I lived there, I would eat it every day.”
Though the idea to add a second location had been in the back of Abdeljabbar’s and Abualizz’s minds for a while, the actual opening of the food stall happened quickly. Abdeljabbar says that they’d talked with the food hall for only a few months before opening. But since they had a vision already, it came together quickly.
The City Foundry space appealed to the duo because of the variety of activities nearby in the complex and the fact that it is a family-friendly space, something that’s important to them.
But another large part of the appeal was the chance to bring Palestinian-style fare to the city and to introduce it to a whole new customer base.
“I can’t wait to get open and just start serving food,” Abdeljabbar says. “I hope everyone enjoys the food. That’s one thing that makes me happy: when someone enjoys it. I’m excited for that.”
Mazaj will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m on Sunday.
This story has been updated.
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