Meet Abdallah El Chami | Chef & Restauranteur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Abdallah El Chami and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Abdallah, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
While working in the tech industry, I realized that I preferred the hands-on work of a food business over sitting in front of a screen most of the say. I also appreciated the the process of making a finished product that can be consumed immediately, which is very different from working in tech.

I had some experience in restaurants and doing some catering jobs, so I decided then to quit my full-time job, did some travelling and started writing a business plan.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Superbaba is a modern middle eastern quick service restaurant – it sits somewhere between fast food and a casual restaurant. We spent time trying to make the falafel or donair shop more approachable and accessible – the food was created to be eaten daily. It is an attempt to change the view of the food from late night eats to everyday food that can be both nutritious and also a treat.

We currently have 2 locations in British Columbia, Canada and we are working on expanding to more locations. Getting to where we are now was not easy – we started out on Vancouver Island, after a year we opened a food truck in Vancouver to grow a base of customers before moving to a brick and mortar location. What happened next was signing a lease a couple months before the pandemic. And if anyone thinks opening a restaurant is difficult, doing it in November 2020 (mid pandemic) is the ultimate stress test to se if your food business will make it. We had to be patient, and working through the daily challenges, the ups and downs of how the customers were feeling from the unknowns, and trying to have enough staff to operate. It was 8 months, of my partner and myself opening and closing the restaurant every day. We just kept at it, and eventually it all turns into a blur, but we came out on the other-side with better food, and a better way of operating.

Our goal is to be a restaurant that pays fairly and provides a great working environment, while using fresh ingredients to make good food for our customers. Most big brands have lost their way and taken too many short cuts – we want to make sure to grow while maintaining our integrity.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Vancouver is a great city for anyone visiting – after a lot of travel, I know we can keep up with most cities. For me its all about food.

For Breakfast I prefer to keep it light, I would visit our neighbouring cafe, Melo Patisserie – they make some of the best croissants in the city. Other spots are Hunnybee for their breakfast sandwich or Modus Coffee for a fantastic cappuccino.

For Lunch im driving over to Richmond for HK BBQ Master – some of the best Honk Kong Style bbq you could ever ask for. And currently my spot is Thai Son, a few blocks from Superbaba for Lemongrass Chicken or Beef Pho.

For Dinner there is a little pasta spot called Oca and the tasting menu is always a winner. People start lining up a 4pm and they only have about 18-20 seats, so get there early, its worth it.

There are so many other places to go to in Vancouver, we have it all and we are only just starting to get attention from people outside of canada, so I look forward to how it will grow on the world stage.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I attribute my success to my staff, the many people who spend their time and energy making food to feed the people.

Website: eatsuperbaba.com

Instagram: eatsuperbaba