Restaurant owner makes home in 'big city'

By Taylor Loyal
Smyrna A.M.
- Taylor Loyal, (615) 459-3868, tloyal@dnj.com
Originally published July 11, 2007

Since moving to the Nashville area about 20 years ago, Sam Abualrob has opened a string of restaurants, treating customers to tastes they may not have experienced before.

There was the Courtyard in Nashville, La Luna's near 100 Oaks Mall, Ravioli's in La Vergne and the Italian Grille Cafe in Hendersonville. He sold or closed each one to start the next project, but now, he says he's found a spot in Smyrna he'd like to make his permanent home.

After being for about five months, Cedars Italian & Greek Cafe, located at 721 President Place, just off of Sam Ridley Parkway in the State Farm building near Publix, held its ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday.

"This one, I'm going to keep it," he said with a chuckle last week. "I like it."

Smyrna A.M. sat down with Abualrob Thursday after a lunch rush. He answered questions while smoking a hooka and drinking hot tea, unwinding before the dinner crowd arrived.

Q: Where are you from originally?

A: I was born in Kuwait. I moved to Nashville in 1985 (after coming to America in 1982 and living in Kansas for three years). I went to TSU for computer science.

Q: Do you live in Smyrna?

A: I still live in Antioch. I'm selling my house to move to Smyrna — the big city, I call it. Everyone asks, 'Sam, where are you now?' I tell them I'm in the big city. I like Smyrna. I wish I would have come here a long time ago. It's a growing city, big time. There's lots of professional people.

Q: Tell me a little about your menu.

A: My menu is Italian and Mediterranean. I was trained by a chef from Little Italy, NY for five years. Then, about four years ago, I went home to the Middle East and I liked the food so much. I learned from a chef over there. Now, all my spices are imported from Lebanon. Lebanon the country, not Tennessee. (Laughs.)

Q: What has been the reaction from your customers so far? Do they have a favorite dish?

A: They love it. Everywhere I go, people tell me they've been to my restaurant and they love it.

All the Mediterranean (dishes) are their favorites. People order those like crazy.

Q: Where do you get your ideas for recipes?

A: Most of my ideas, I get from my experience. I can just sit down and think of something and do it. I have a library in my house. I have over 150 cook books. I'll sit there and come up with something.

Q: You also sell hookas here. Tell me a little bit about them.

A: (Hookas are) like a water bong for tobacco. The tobacco is sweet. We've got apple, strawberry, watermelon. I sell the hookas for about $30. I have the tobacco, the cord, everything. I don't make much money when I sell them.

Q: What dish would you recommend to someone trying Mediterranean food for the first time?

A: Try the Chicken Shawarma Plate. (The Cedars menu describes it as thin slices of marinated chicken grilled with onions, green peppers and a blend of spices.) It comes with rice, hummus, Mediterranean salad, pita bread and cucumber sauce.