Mediterranean Deli is a popular lunch and dinner spot on Franklin Street and provides Chapel Hill with authentic cuisines from the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Born and raised in war-torn Jerusalem, Owner Jamil Kadoura worked at a falafel stand outside of his school during recess. He was paid with either a falafel or a hummus sandwich. That gave Jamil an idea, and he suggested a new menu item – a sandwich that combined both, priced 5 cents higher. The cart owner rejected the notion. But that night, Jamil made a sign advertising it and set it on the falafel cart before heading to class. “Boy, everybody that came to the falafel cart that day ordered a falafel and hummus sandwich!” he recalls.
Jamil moved to the U.S. and attended business school in Minneapolis in 1979. He worked for many hotels over the years, eventually becoming food and beverage director at the Europa Hotel (now the Sheraton Chapel Hill Hotel). Jamil met his wife, Angela Kadoura, at the Sheraton Imperial in Raleigh, and they married there in 1989.
Mediterranean Deli
410 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
(919) 967-2666
Hours: Monday - Sunday, 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
