Driving Our Economy Forward: The Hummus Bowl

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) —  Traditional hummus is made from ground chickpeas and sesame seeds. Add a little olive oil, lemon, and garlic, and you the recipe for a delicious source of protein. A local family doing its best to make hummus a staple in St. Elmo.  We head to the Hummus Bowl in tonight’s Driving our Economy Forward.

Abdul Wahhab, Owner of the Hummus Bowl says, “Chattanooga is, you know, where I came from, from Middle East is mostly like flat desert and, you know, when I came to Chattanooga, it was like you know, like hills, some little bit mountains, and everywhere is green. And I really fell in love with, you know, four season climate here. I really, I said, this will be my hometown. And, the passion I want to give, I want to for the customer, too… They balance their food. I give them a protein, I give them fat, I give them fiber, carbs. So, four things, you know, the main four things in the plate, which is even when they eat it, they have a balance of the food.”

Maram Alabid, Abdul’s daughter said, “Is it really nice to work with family. Is like it’s not like a job. It’s just like spending time together. It’s given me the freedom to back to school. So, like, I really like it. So, my mom, she really loved to be cooking. And she really good. And her like a dream to have a restaurant or cafe or something like that, so my dad and he said, okay, let’s try it. So, we opened it. (laughter) It was that simple.”

Jinan Alabid,  Abdul’s wife said, “So, when, when you love your job or what? What you are doing, it’s normal to smile and talk about that. And in a way, like, make you feel like this is very important for us. It’s not just cooking or making coffee for you. I like to give you something from my culture, and we love to cook with love. So, anything I want to give it to you. I have to put my love in it.”