Driving past the small retail hub at the intersection of 24th Ave NW and NW 80th Street, Rajah Gargour knew it would be the perfect place to open a restaurant. Then he saw a space for rent and called the landlord. Turns out two adjacent spaces were available – so he took both. For months Gargour has been building out the space to open Cafe Munir, a Lebanese restaurant.
“We’re going to do a menu that’s pretty much a traditional restaurant menu and then we’re going to do a daily special menu that’s going to have more modern takes on Arabic Lebanese food,” Gargour tells us. Along with the food, Cafe Munir will have an extensive whiskey list. “I’m a whiskey nerd,” Gargour says. He also tells us that it’s common for people to sit down with a glass of whiskey or arak at a Lebanese meal.
Cafe Munir will officially open at the beginning of the new year for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tonight (Friday, 12/16) they are holding an open house to introduce themselves and their food to the neighborhood. The open house is from 3 to 6 p.m. at 2408 NW 80th St. and will feature food, drinks and an Arabic band.