Popular fast-casual Middle Eastern eatery Sababa will be opening a second downtown location in the former Fenix space (554 Commercial St.)

Last June, owner Guy Eshel, along with minority owner Matt Semmelhack of Mercer Restaurant Group, opened Sababa's first location on Kearny Street. The build-your-own sandwich, bowl or hummus plate concept (with freshly baked pita bread) has resonated with Financial District eaters, as the second restaurant will be just a seven-minute walk away from the original. 

Much like how things rolled out at Sababa’s original location, the Commercial Street space will initially be open just for lunch.

“It’ll be the same menu,” Eshel said, “but we’re going to try introducing a seasonal salad into the mix, to offer a little variation for our regulars.”

Sababa’s diminutive kitchen on Kearny Street is a major reason why Eshel decided to expand.

“We reached capacity,” he said. “We get a ton of catering requests. The Commercial Street space has a giant prep kitchen in the basement, and the dining area is twice as large.”

The larger new kitchen space will allow the restaurant to grow its catering and delivery offerings.

“We currently sell out of our MealPal in under a minute,” Eshel said. “With the new space, we can expand to 100 meal deliveries a day.” He also said that Sababa is partnering with Caviar to expand its lunch deliveries.

“We’re trying to grow,” Eshel said. But not too fast.

“This is the first of many new locations, but they’ll come at a steady pace," he said. "We don’t want to outgrow ourselves and bring the quality of our food down. We want to grow organically.”

Eshel is planning to have the second Sababa open in May.

Thanks to tipster Al M. for the tip! Sababa is hiring, so if you’re interested in working at the Commercial Street restaurant, get in touch.