VILLAGE OF EAST SYRACUSE – Whether it’s lunch hour or late at night, Ali Baba Restaurant & Sweets can satisfy the cravings of any appetite.
Located at 6378 Thompson Road in East Syracuse, the Middle Eastern eatery offers a variety of halal food prepared fresh, from mixed-grill skewers and gyros to chicken shawarma on top of rice or in a sandwich.
The restaurant also serves chicken wings and tenders, seasonal soups, tabbouleh, falafel, hummus, and jalapeño poppers, and a couple of its walls are lined with pre-packaged candy. There’s also a selection of cakes and smoothies, with flavors of the latter including strawberry, mango pineapple and banana.
“I like to share all the different Arabic and Middle Eastern food we have, plus the sweet stuff too,” said Kaib Saleh, who goes by the nickname Adam and runs the restaurant with his brother Shihab and their Jordanian business partner Alaa. “Business has been good, so we’re glad about that, y’know—knock on wood.”
The East Syracuse restaurant held its grand opening on May 22 of this year. The event welcomed in friends and the curious and featured free food from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. along with a DJ set and a photo booth.
The establishment had converted what was briefly intended to be a smoke shop into the sweets section to give off more of a family-friendly and kid-appropriate atmosphere, Saleh said. In about a month or two, Ali Baba will be incorporating an Arabic cafe too with a range of tea and coffee choices.
Starting out, the business was meant to be a convenience store with a carry-out deli, but when the owners noticed that people were sitting down to eat at the chairs and tables used for the grand opening, the trio decided to take out the shelves and pay the extra licensing fee to properly turn their place into a sit-down restaurant with takeout and delivery options.
Currently Ali Baba Restaurant is open from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m., but once there are more staff members at the ready, its hours will expand to 24/7/365.
Saleh, whose family came over from Yemen, said that Ali Baba’s growing reputation as an eatery open late into the night is appealing to night shift workers and hotel guests staying in the Carrier Circle area.
“The area we’re in, there are a lot of hotels, so we wanted to make it as convenient as we could,” Saleh said. “I’ve been through it myself where I’ve been to a hotel and everything around me was closed. If you’re traveling, you’re then stuck with snacks and junk food.”
At a later date, the East Syracuse restaurant will be making more use of its drive-thru as well, Saleh said.
Ali Baba Restaurant is not connected to Ali Baba Food Truck, which serves both Middle Eastern and Mexican dishes locally.
“What I love about our restaurant is you get to meet a lot of different people,” Saleh said. “Serving all different foods to the community and making them try a different cuisine gives you a great feeling, especially when you get a nice comment about it. It makes you feel so good.”
For more information on the Thompson Road restaurant, head to alibabaeats247.com or the “ALI BABA 24/7” Facebook page.