Trio about to open three New York-style delis, one new Mediterranean restaurant in Wichita
.jpg "Faisal Assaedi, left, chef Naseem Allahabi and Muqnea Elaya are partners on four new restaurants opening in Wichita, including three New York-style delis.")
A trio of business partners — including a chef who has just relocated to Wichita from New York City — say they are on the verge of opening four new restaurants in Wichita.
Over the next several months, chef Naseem Allahabi will join Faisal Assaedi and Muqnea Elaya in opening three New York-style Middle Eastern to-go delis plus a Mediterranean restaurant focused on street food. Chef Allahabi says he already owns several restaurants in New York City and was persuaded to move to Wichita to help his friends Assaedi and Elaya — owners of 10 Wichita smoke shops — get into the restaurant business.
The partners’ first restaurant will open at 1920 W. 21st St., in the space that once held Uno Mas and more recently was home to Tamales & Monchis GTO then Super Doggos. The new restaurant will be called NAS Kitchen, named for chef Naseem, and it will serve things like gyros, quesadillas, fresh salads, loaded fries and platters featuring Halal chicken and lamb, falafel, jerk chicken and more. It should be open in about two to three weeks and will feature room for a few dine-in customers.
The trio says they’ll need another month or so to open two of their New York-style bodega eateries, which will operate as to-go only businesses and will both be called 360 NY Deli & Grill. The first one will open at 701 W. 21st St., which is in a building at the corner of 21st and Arkansas, and the second will follow at 11309 E. Kellogg.
The partners also are planning to open a third 360 NY Deli & Grill in an old gas station building they own at Harry and West Street. They hope to have it ready by December.
The three delis will offer sandwiches like chicken salad, tuna salad, chicken Parmesan, pastrami, roast beef and more. They’ll also specialize in New York-style bagels and feature smoothies and a juice bar. The delis will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner — possibly 24 hours a day. The deli on West 21st Street will have a drive-through, but Greenwich and West Street won’t.
The delis also will specialize in a sandwich that’s popular on the streets of New York City but unfamiliar to Wichita: The chopped cheese sandwich is New York City’s answer to the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich and features ground beef chopped up with onions and peppers that’s served on a bun and topped with melted American cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.
“I go to New York just for the chopped cheese,” Assaedi said.
Assaedi and Elaya are the owners of 10 360 Tobacco & Vape stores in Wichita. Elaya and Chef Allahabi met when Elaya hired him to work in one of his New York City restaurants. He saw how much drive the young chef had, and the two made plans to expand their restaurant reach into other states. Elaya moved his family to Wichita about four months ago, and Allahabil followed.
The trio now hope to make a culinary impact on Wichita and introduce them to a big-city style of eating.
“We’re ready for Wichita, ready to show them what we can do and change the food game a little bit over here,” Allahabi said. “It’s only the beginning of the plans that we have.”
This story was originally published August 2, 2023 at 11:17 AM.
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