Oren’s Hummus is opening the first Oren’s Hummus Express concept after successfully launching their fourth restaurant in downtown San Francisco in July 2018. The new outpost, slated to open this April in Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village will accompany the three full-service South Bay restaurants in Palo Alto, Mountain View and Cupertino where their authentic and approachable Israeli menus have become local favorites. First-opened on University Avenue in Palo Alto in 2011, Oren’s Hummus has plans to open more Oren’s Hummus Express locations in the region this year. The Israeli delicacies and hearty dishes will be made more accessible to Bay Area residents and visitors with convenient counter ordering for fresh sandwiches and bowls in the scaled down restaurant format.
Originally from Tel Aviv, Oren Dobronsky, a technologist by trade, began several successful start-ups before opening the first Oren’s Hummus location. He and his wife Nancy, had the goal to bring bold Israeli flavors, Mediterranean salads, and authentic hummus made with Israeli imported ingredients to the Bay Area. Shortly after opening, the couple partnered with long time industry veterans Mistie Cohen (President) & her husband and Chef David Cohen to expand the concept. Guests can anticipate personable but quick service at the Oren’s Express locations and a menu that focuses on Oren’s Hummus greatest hits with a few new items.
With the success of their four full-service locations, the restaurateurs are now opening the first of multiple-planned Bay Area Oren’s Hummus Express locations. Fans can expect to see Oren’s Hummus Express in downtown San Francisco and the East Bay by the end of the year. The owners anticipate carrying the brand out of the Bay Area with an expansion in 2020.
Convenient and Fresh Israeli Cuisine:
Chef David imports many ingredients from Israel to create the same traditional tastes that will transport diners to a genuine hummus restaurant in Tel Aviv. Hummus and pita are prepared fresh numerous times throughout the day, while the highest quality ingredients, often locally sourced produce, and 100 percent natural beef, chicken and eggs complete the menu. Diners following a vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or meat-centric Paleo diet will find many options suited to their preferences. The gluten-free pita is often raved about as the key to letting those avoiding gluten enjoy hummus “the way it should be enjoyed”.
Oren’s Hummus Express will be open seven days a week to serve the area’s shoppers, residents and workers alike. The menu will offer a variety of new dishes such as the Golden Falafel or shawarma spiced chicken available in hummus bowls, rice bowls, plates or as a pita sandwich. The rest of the menu includes the restaurant’s favorite pita sandwiches, plates, rice and hummus bowls such as the Hummus Sabich Bowl, which blends the classic hummus with fried eggplant, potatoes, hardboiled egg, cucumber, tomato, chopped pickles, amba sauce and fresh herbs. Other Hummus Bowls offer a range of ingredients including roasted cauliflower, braised lamb shoulder with mint or Moroccan spiced beef with pine nuts. Pita sandwiches featuring the Original green Falafel or Golden Falafel, sabich, chicken schnitzel and kebobs complement the range of traditional dips and vegetable sides.
Making use of their new 8,500 square foot commissary kitchen in San Jose to prepare many items ensures food consistency in the new concept. This allows Oren’s Hummus to make and deliver fresh food daily to the restaurant each day. Items like hummus are mixed in-store at least twice a day and all the vegetables and proteins are prepared at each location to order. “We still do everything fresh, every day,” says executive chef Cohen. “Wherever we go, we will never sacrifice that.”
The Design:
Located inside Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village in the former Fast Tony’s Chicken space, the 855-square foot location features a counter to order hot items made for pick up while coolers are stocked with popular dips and drinks to facilitate a comfortable flow. The minimal decor will mirror their signature look seen in Cupertino and now the San Francisco space. Colorful floor tile, laser cut wood rustic brick accents and crystal lighting fill the space with modern charm while 45 seats are available outside.
