Al-Tarboush Is Closing on the Loop

One of the best spots for Middle Eastern food on the Delmar Loop is closing after 26 years.

Al Tarboush (602 Westgate) has a sign in the window saying it intends to close soon.

"Make time to buy hookah & supplies," it reads. "Order your favorite treats. Take home your favorite wraps. Most importantly ... say goodbye! Thank you for the last almost 27 years!"

The cafe's charming founder, Sleiman "Sam" Bathani, was touring the U.S. with a singing group in 1989 when war broke out in his native Lebanon. He ended up resettling in Chicago, and then, in 1996, moved his family to St. Louis to join family friends there. They opened Al-Tarboush less than a year later.

At first, as Sam's daughter Joeanne Bathani previously told the RFT, they weren't sure St. Louis would be into Lebanese food. "We started with pizza and French fries in case people didn't want to go straight to Lebanese food," she said, adding, "You don't see pizza and French fries in here anymore."

Indeed, Al-Tarboush developed a huge following for its wraps, its hummus and its house-made baklava. The no-frills cafe won numerous "Best Of" awards from the RFT over the years, and its chicken shawarma  was recently named one of the top five in the city.

As Sam Bathani told the RFT's Cheryl Baehr in 2018,  "I've been so lucky. It's been nothing short of a miracle."


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