New fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant opens in Springboro

Apr. 29—A new restaurant in Springboro is taking Mediterranean food to the next level by allowing customers to build their own bowls and hummus.

Owner Hamzeh Odeh opened Hummus Mediterranean Food in the former spot of Sweet Tooth Crepes and Shakes at 75 N. Main St. on Sunday. He said he originally didn't announce they were opening because he wanted to have time to train his staff, but after an hour of no customers he made a post on Facebook and Instagram, which resulted in non-stop customers until an hour after closing.

Hummus Mediterranean Food allows customers to build their own bowls for $11.99 with hot toppings such as rice, chicken shawarma, beef and lamb gyro, falafel, corn, red kidney beans, fajita and cream peas and carrot. Cold toppings include tomatoes, red onions, red cabbage, lettuce, pickles, Turkish salad, banana peppers, black olives, feta cheese, coleslaw and turnips. Bowls can then be topped off with tahini, tzatziki, garlic or hot sauces, as well at Greek or vinaigrette dressing.

The restaurant has sandwiches and wraps, as well as sides like fries, baba ghanouj, grape leaves or falafel.

Customers can also build their own hummus by adding garlic oil, cilantro, jalapeno, lime, nuts, veggies or meat.

Odeh said the hummus recipe is a labor of love that he has been working on for a long time. The hummus takes three days to prepare and starts with chickpeas being soaked in water for 12 hours. It's then cooked with spices and set aside for an entire day to cool down. Once the hummus is made, it then goes into a refrigerator for a minimum of four to five hours before serving.

He and his staff are at the restaurant two to three hours before they open and after they close to make sure everything, from the toppings to the meats, are made fresh for the customers.

"Basically the idea of the restaurant is that we're leaving the customer to choose their flavors," Odeh said.

He opened the restaurant after working in a variety of other restaurants for seven years and noticing that people needed a fast-casual Mediterranean option.

Odeh was born in Dayton and grew up Jordan. He's had a passion for food since he was seven years old, which resulted in him studying culinary arts at Sinclair Community College.

Odeh plans to add additional items to the menu like beef shawarma. In the future, he said he would love to expand by franchising.

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More details

Hummus Mediterranean Food is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. For more information, visit the restaurant's Facebook or Instagram pages.