East Carolinian

Issue date: 1/15/09 Section: Features

Media Credit: Nicolas Thigpen

The laid-back atmosphere, Middle Eastern dishes and dozens of hookah flavors make Jericho's Restaurant in downtown Greenville a jewel for ECU students. Add the fact that they stay open until 4 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays-a perk, owner Luai Abdo, who runs the place with his father Taha "Tom" Abdo--says draws students every night, and you've got yourself a restaurant-made-in-heaven.

Luai Abdo, a U.S. Army veteran whose family is originally from Jerusalem, graduated in 1999 from ECU's hospitality management program and wanted to give back to the community of his alma mater--which he says has made Jericho's what it is today.

"I want people to know that ECU produced this place," he said. "Although it's a mom and pop restaurant, I was trained properly [through ECU's program], and it's professional."

Although Abdo says that running Jericho's is something he does for fun, his goal in the venture is twofold: He wants to provide an alternative atmosphere to the many downtown spots that serve alcohol-he admits he doesn't like the stuff--and he wants the Greenville community to understand Middle Eastern culture a bit better.

"I want people to know that this is an ethnic experience," Luai Abdo said. "I wanted to bring Middle Eastern food to people so that [they] can see what Arabs really are and not just what they hear, [and] I wanted to do a restaurant downtown that was non-alcoholic."

Jericho's, which opened on Jan. 12 (the grand opening will take place on Jan. 19), offers restaurant-goers Middle Eastern plates like kabobs and pitas, Middle Eastern-style salads and burgers, falafel, hummus and baklava. Other dishes students will have to get used to pronouncing like kufta (like ground beef) and fetoosh (a salad of romaine greens topped with onions, cucumbers and lemon juice and olive oil-seasoned fried pita). These are all staples on Jericho's menu.

With prices ranging from about six bucks for a pita combo (includes fries and a drink), and about four dollars for a burger, students will leave Jericho's with both their bellies and their wallets full.

Its Middle Eastern-inspired music and murals of Jerusalem (one wall has a mural of the city during the day, while a wall opposite has a mural of the city by night), Jericho's is truly a unique experience-something Luai Abdo says he hopes restaurant-goers will take away with them.

"People truly love [Jericho's], because it's not something they're getting anywhere else," he said. "Everything is authentic; nothing is Americanized."

Many students have jumped on board the Jericho's train since its opening this week, and Luai Abdo says that many stay on average three or four hours per visit.

"This a home feel restaurant," he said. "I want students to feel like they're coming home, and they're going to get the treatment of their lives…I'm so for the Pirates and helping the school and its students."

Jericho's is located downtown on Cotanche Street, across from the Pitt Co. Courthouse.





This writer can be contacted at editor@theeastcarolinian.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools