The Kitchen that Keeps us Together
Koshari Didn’t Begin in a Kitchen.
It began with a journey.
Ayman was born in Kuwait, grew up between Kuwait and Egypt, and comes from Palestinian and Egyptian roots. His path eventually took him to Jordan, where he managed his family’s apple orchard and spent years studying agriculture and horticulture.
Working the land shaped the way he still thinks about food today: start with good ingredients, respect them, and don’t rush what matters.
Years later, life brought him to the United States and eventually to Seattle. He worked throughout the food industry, always carrying one thought with him: one day, he would build something of his own.
The answer came at home.
Ayman cooked every day for his wife, Amani—Lebanese, with an Egyptian mother—while she cared for their daughter. Their table naturally brought together the foods they had grown up with: Egyptian and Lebanese dishes made simply, generously, and the way they remembered them.
Then, within one week, three things happened.
Ayman had been quietly thinking about introducing authentic Egyptian koshari to Seattle. Amani surprised him with a commercial steam table he had casually mentioned. And his mother called from Egypt with exactly the same suggestion:
Why don’t you make koshari?
That was enough.
They started at local farmers markets with a steam table, a canopy tent, a tiny POS system, and absolutely no guarantee that Seattle would understand what they were trying to do.
Soon after, they found an evening home inside a Cafe in Ballard.
At first, some nights meant serving only one bowl.
But they kept showing up.
One bowl became regulars. Regulars brought friends. Word traveled beyond Ballard, and eventually people were coming from across the state to eat with them.
What began with one Egyptian dish grew into Koshari: a fully vegetarian restaurant rooted in Egyptian and Lebanese food traditions.
And through it all, Koshari remained deeply personal.
As parents of a daughter with multiple disabilities, Ayman and Amani needed to build a life that allowed them to work together while keeping their family close. So they built Koshari side by side—cooking, serving, creating, troubleshooting, building the website, and doing just about everything else a tiny family restaurant requires.
And now, Koshari has a home.
After nearly two years as an evening pop-up in Ballard, that chapter came to an end.
For a while, we didn’t know exactly where the next one would begin.
Now we do.
We signed the lease on our very own restaurant space—right here in Ballard, just a few blocks from where so many of you first found us.
For the first time, Koshari will have a front door of its own.
We’re currently painting, building, navigating permits, and turning an empty space into the restaurant we have imagined for years. We don’t have an opening date yet, and we’re not rushing to invent one.
But the next chapter has officially begun.
And this time, we’re home.
Come Along for the Next Chapter
Join our mailing list and follow us on social media as we build the new Koshari, share behind-the-scenes progress, and announce our opening date.
See you soon, Ballard! 🫶🏼
