Restaurant opening soon in Johnson County will serve Mediterranean BBQ, shawarma, more

Less than two years in, Mediterranean restaurant Sido’s Cuisine has two locations in the Kansas City area: 1707 Locust St. in the Parlor KC food hall, and a shipping container spot at 1599 Iron St. in North Kansas City’s Iron District.

To expose Johnson County residents to the “best shawarma in the world,” owner Abbas Abu Zareefuh is opening a third location in Overland Park — this one a full-scale operation.

“We will give them that experience of the real Middle Eastern food , like they traveled and sat in a restaurant and ate the best food they had in the Middle East,” he said.

Sido’s is looking to open at 10150 W. 119th St. by the end of the month. The restaurant will take over the old Sahara Mediterranean Food spot, which recently closed (for good, this time).

The Overland Park Sido’s will be the concept’s most built-out location. With indoor seating and space for more equipment, it will also sell “way more” menu items, like Mediterranean barbecue.

Of course, it will still sell its beloved menu classics, like gyros, kebabs, hummus and shawarma.

“Everything’s going to be from scratch,” he said. “There will be nothing from the bottle.”

Abu Zareefuh and his children named the business after Abu Zareefuh’s father, who operated a restaurant in 1959 in Jordan. (“Sido” is the Palestinian word for “grandfather”).

Abu Zareefuh inherited the love for cooking and became a chef in Jordan and Dubai before moving to the United States.

“We’re going to make it very authentic,” he said about his restaurant. “If your last name is Abu Zareefuh, that means you have to be really good in the kitchen.”

Sahara had been open at the Overland Park spot since 2021, but it closed in January. It reopened in June under new management, but closed again a few weeks ago.

It still has a location in Lee’s Summit at 705 SE Melody Lane.