‘It’s sad to see Jaffa go.’ SLO restaurant closes after nearly 2 decades
A popular San Luis Obispo restaurant that introduced Mediterranean food to many locals has closed after nearly two decades.
Jaffa Café announced its closure via its website.
“In December 2019 Adnan (Saleh) decided to close the SLO location after 18 wonderful years,” the restaurant announced on its website. “We wish Adnan a happy and healthy retirement from the restaurant business and thank him for many great memories in Jaffa SLO!”
Reached by phone Monday, Adnan Saleh said he hasn’t been directly involved with the San Luis Obispo business for the past five years, having retired and handed over the reigns to a silent partner from Placerville.
But he has fond memories of opening the restaurant in its original Higuera Street location in 2002, when no other Mediterranean eatery existed in San Luis Obispo, he said.
“I loved meeting people,” said Saleh, a familiar face behind the cash register. “I had moved here in 2001, and I didn’t know a lot of people. I felt like a lot of the people I met over the years become like family. I still live here and I see them on the street and they greet me from my days at Jaffa.”
Jaffa Cafe connected owner to SLO community
Saleh, a Palestinian native, said operating a restaurant in San Luis Obispo connected him to the community, and made him feel included.
“We love America and care about the community,” Saleh said. “I didn’t want to be an outsider and I wanted people to know our culture. I love America.”
The name of his restaurant refers to Jaffa of Nazareth, located in the Lower Galilee in modern-day Israel.
Saleh credits his close friend, Mohamad Ali “Mike” Ghannam, for developing the menu and serving as Jaffa’s head chef. Ghannam also worked as a chef at Inn at Morro Bay.
Some of the popular items on the menu included falafel, kabobs, shawarma, baba ganoush, gyros and baklava.
“Mike created the menu and loved the restaurant,” Saleh said. “He was so excited. He’d scream behind the kitchen, ‘Where is everybody?’ I begged him to close on the weekend, but he said ‘Why should I close?’ He loved to cook for people.”
“When I drive by the cemetery, I salute him and it brings a tear to my eye,” Saleh said. Ghannam, a native of Lebanon, died of cancer at age 51 in 2007, Saleh said.
Jaffa Cafe was awarded Small Business of the Year in 2013 by state Sen. Bill Monning.
Mediterranean restaurant was former market, deli
Saleh and Ghannam opened their restaurant in the former Cornerstone Market and Deli at 1212 Higuera St. Many of the market’s features — including a wall full of liquor — were carried over from previous owners.
They converted the space into a dining area, moving the kitchen to the back, bringing in grocery items from the Middle East and created a large, open dining area, according to a 2005 Tribune article.
Jaffa moved from its Higuera Street location to its most recent site at 1308 Monterey St. in the MIX on Monterey building around the beginning of 2013.
According to a sign on the door of the Monterey Street space, the restaurant will be replaced by Papa’s Thai Cafe, “opening soon.”
“It’s sad to see Jaffa go,” Saleh said. “But my brother’s Jaffa locations in Arroyo Grande and Santa Maria are going strong and I hope people will support them there.”
Saleh’s brother and sister-in-law, Ali and Wendy Saleh, operate Jaffa Cafe restaurants in Arroyo Grande and Santa Maria. Those locations will remain open.
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 10:59 AM.
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