Habashi House

Habashi House is a family-owned Middle Eastern restaurant in Kansas City’s Historic City Market (River Market), opened in May 2000 by the Al Habashi family as an outgrowth of their adjacent Al-Habashi Mart grocery. Reputed home of the “best falafel sandwich in town,” it is one of the City Market’s longest-running independent eateries.

Description

Habashi House is a family-owned Middle Eastern restaurant located at 309 Main Street in Kansas City’s Historic City Market (River Market).¹² The menu centers on Levantine and Mediterranean staples — falafel, hummus, baba ghanouj, chicken shawarma, gyros, salads, dips, and pita sandwiches.²³ Its most popular order is the House Combo, a vegetarian sampler plate of hummus, baba ghanouj, falafel patties, rice, and salads with pita.² The restaurant markets itself as “home to the Best Falafel Sandwich in Town,” and customer reviews repeatedly single out the falafel, chicken shawarma, and gyro.²³

Ownership and history

Habashi House is a family-owned and operated business run by the Al Habashi family, with Tawfiq and Moody Al Habashi featured as founders.² It opened in May 2000, expanding on the success of the family’s adjacent Al-Habashi Mart grocery store in the City Market.¹²

The Al Habashi (Alhabashi) family operates more than one business in the City Market. Habashi House — the Middle Eastern falafel/shawarma restaurant at 309 Main St — is a distinct establishment from tikka-house, the family’s Indian café and bulk-spice market at 411 Main St founded in 2005 by Manal Alhabashi.¹⁴ The two share the family name and the City Market location but are different concepts, addresses, founding years, and operators. (See Disputes below.)

Links

• Official site: https://www.habashihouse.com/
• The City Market merchant page: https://thecitymarketkc.org/merchants/habashi-house/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/habashi-house-kansas-city

Sources

Disputes

Relationship to Tikka House. Both Habashi House and tikka-house are Alhabashi-family businesses in the City Market, which invites confusion. Verification establishes they are distinct businesses: Habashi House is a Middle Eastern falafel/shawarma restaurant at 309 Main St, opened May 2000, founded by Tawfiq & Moody Al Habashi out of the adjacent Al-Habashi Mart grocery; Tikka House is an Indian café + bulk-spice market at 411 Main St, opened 2005 by Manal Alhabashi. Different name, concept, address, founding year, and operators. The precise familial tie between the two Alhabashi branches is not documented in public sources.

See also

• tikka-house

Footnotes

1. The City Market — Habashi House merchant page. https://thecitymarketkc.org/merchants/habashi-house/ — asserts: 309 Main St (location 2C), Middle Eastern restaurant, family-owned, opened May 2000 expanding on the adjacent Al-Habashi Mart grocery, currently a listed merchant. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Habashi House — official website (home + location/hours). https://www.habashihouse.com/ — asserts: 309 Main St, KCMO 64105; founders Tawfiq & Moody Al Habashi; opened May 2000; adjacent Al-Habashi Mart; “Best Falafel Sandwich in Town”; House Combo signature; hours Mon–Tue 10–2, Wed–Sun 10–5; phone (816) 421-0414. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Yelp — Habashi House, Kansas City. https://www.yelp.com/biz/habashi-house-kansas-city — asserts: 309 Main St KCMO, Middle Eastern category, falafel/shawarma/gyro signature dishes, active listing “Updated May 2026” with 309 reviews. ↩ ↩²

4. Kansas City Magazine — “Tikka House Sells Every Kind Of Spice You Can Imagine.” https://kansascitymag.com/spice-up-your-life/ — asserts: Tikka House (411 Main St) founded 2005 by Manal Alhabashi, a separate Alhabashi-family City Market business — used here to distinguish from Habashi House. ↩