This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

Baba’s Pantry is a Palestinian-American delicatessen and market in Kansas City, Missouri, opened in 2021 by chef Yahia “Baba” Kamal and his family, celebrated for its hummus, dips, and from-scratch Palestinian cuisine and named one of Bon Appétit’s 10 Best New Restaurants of 2022.

Description

Baba’s Pantry is a Palestinian-American delicatessen, market, and restaurant at 1019 E 63rd Street in Kansas City, Missouri. It serves authentic Palestinian cuisine — hummus and other dips and spreads, falafel, shawarma, kebabs, and related dishes — blending traditional family recipes with the founder’s decades of culinary experience. The shop functions as both a counter-service eatery and a pantry stocking prepared foods and Palestinian staples.

Founder and chef Yahia Kamal, known to his family and customers as “Baba,” is widely credited with popularizing hummus and Middle Eastern dips in the Kansas City market, having sold products under the “Yummy’s Choice” label beginning in the early-to-mid 2000s before opening his own storefront. The restaurant has drawn substantial national and regional press, including recognition from Bon Appétit, Southern Living, CBS Saturday Morning, and KCUR.

In early 2025 the family expanded the concept with Baba’s Bakery, a weekend operation showcasing Palestinian baked goods and treats alongside the original pantry. The business is explicitly framed by its owners as a celebration of Palestinian culture, family, and diaspora resilience.

Ownership and history

Baba’s Pantry is owned and operated by the Kamal family. Patriarch Yahia Kamal immigrated to the United States from Palestine (one account places his arrival in 1979; he attended college in Oklahoma before settling in Kansas City). In 1993 he moved with his children to Palestine for several years so they could learn the culture and Arabic language. He spent decades in Kansas City food businesses and began selling his signature hummus and dips commercially in the early 2000s (sources cite 2000 and 2004 for the start of the "Yummy's Choice" line).

The brick-and-mortar Baba’s Pantry opened in July 2021 as a full family venture. Kamal’s wife, Yusra Kamal (also rendered Yusra Abu-Alhassab), and their adult children all partnered in the business: Omar Kamal (sous chef), Yasmine/Jasmine Kamal (baker), Hannah Kamal Nsenki (business operations and social media), and Kamal Kamal (interior design and events, based in New York). In September 2022, Bon Appétit named Baba’s Pantry one of the 10 Best New Restaurants in the United States. In early 2025 the family added Baba’s Bakery.

Tier classification

Tier 1. Baba’s Pantry is a Palestinian immigrant family’s flagship business, built over decades of work in Kansas City food and rooted entirely in the founder’s heritage and the family’s collective labor — the deepest expression of “pride and dedication to roots” the Registry’s top tier measures. National recognition (Bon Appétit) and a multi-generational, all-family operating structure reinforce the placement.

See also

  • kansas-city-missouri
  • brookside
  • 63rd-street-corridor
  • kc-immigrant-owned-restaurants
  • Registry

Sources

  1. KCUR — “Kansas City’s hummus king brings together his entire family for Baba’s Pantry” — https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2022-08-14/kansas-citys-hummus-king-brings-together-his-entire-family-for-babas-pantry — accessed 2026-05-30
  2. KCUR — “Baba’s Pantry in Kansas City named one of the country’s 10 best new restaurants” — https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2022-09-14/babas-pantry-in-kansas-city-named-one-of-the-countrys-10-best-new-restaurants — accessed 2026-05-30
  3. KCUR — “Kansas City welcomed Baba’s Pantry with open arms. A bakery now shows off Palestinian treats” — https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2025-01-31/babas-pantry-bakery-kansas-city-palestinian-food — accessed 2026-05-30
  4. Baba’s Pantry official website — https://www.babaspantrykc.com — accessed 2026-05-30
  5. Flatland KC — “KC’s Hummus King Turns to Family to Create Baba’s Pantry” — https://flatlandkc.org/eats-drinks/kcs-hummus-king-turns-to-family-to-create-babas-pantry/ — accessed 2026-05-30

Verification

Drafted 2026-05-30 from web research; 5 sources. Confirmed: address (1019 E 63rd St, KCMO 64110), founding (July 2021), owner family (Kamal), Bon Appétit honor, social links, current website. CORRECTED from intake: website is babaspantrykc.com (not babaspantry.com); phone is (816) 702-0045 (intake’s (913) 232-2222 is wrong/unverified); founding is 2021 (not “2010s”); neighborhood is Brookside/63rd St KCMO (not Prairie Village). Unverified: exact immigration year and exact year the hummus line launched (sources vary).

See also

  • Registry
Categories
  • Locally owned
  • Kamal