Two University of Kansas students turned a downtown Lawrence storefront into the state's first Shawarma Press, and they just marked one year of keeping the Mediterranean counter busy near campus. Sisters Atrooba and Tahima Hashim opened the restaurant together at 947 New Hampshire Street, a spot that sits close enough to KU to pull in students between classes.
The milestone drew more than just regular customers through the door. According to RestaurantNews.com, the anniversary celebration was attended by Kansas State Senator Marci Francisco and Lawrence City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry, a notable show of local support for a restaurant run by two college students. The same report notes the sisters are believed to be the youngest franchisees in the nation, though that status is described as a belief rather than a confirmed title.
Atrooba Hashim serves as the store's manager, and she has said she enjoys meeting new customers and introducing them to the restaurant's Mediterranean food, per the outlet's account. The Lawrence location marks Shawarma Press's first expansion into Kansas, giving the Hashim sisters a foothold in a market the chain hadn't touched before.
From Krustaceans Seafood to Shawarma Counter
The restaurant now occupies a storefront that used to house Krustaceans Seafood, according to the Lawrence Times. Ahead of opening, the company filed plans for internal remodeling and new signage at the site, and the Lawrence Journal-World reported that the location already had most of the necessary approvals in place because it was an existing restaurant space, per the Lawrence Journal-World.
A soft opening was planned for the weekend following an Oct. 29 local update on downtown Lawrence business changes, the Lawrence Times reported at the time. Ahead of that debut, Atrooba Hashim told the outlet, “Our menu offers traditional Mediterranean items such as Shawarma wraps, made-from-scratch falafels, hummus, and fresh soups, salads, and pastries.”
What's on the Menu
The Lawrence restaurant's menu leans heavily on shawarma in multiple forms, with hummus wraps, shawarma melts, falafel bites, spicy tandoori press chicken shawarma and shawarma bowls all on offer, according to the restaurantnews.com report. Diners can also order catering platters and trays for office gatherings, parties, or groups, making the storefront a potential option beyond solo lunch runs. The restaurant is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., per the same account.
A Texas Chain Finds Its Footing in the Midwest
Shawarma Press traces its roots to Irving, Texas, where the chain got its start in 2017, according to the Lawrence Journal-World. Since then it has grown throughout Texas with locations in Arlington, Denton, Frisco, Georgetown, Plano and San Antonio, as reported by FastCasual.com. The chain's expansion later pushed into Georgia, with a restaurant in Johns Creek followed by a digital kitchen in midtown Atlanta, the same outlet noted.
Company leadership has framed the growth as part of a broader shift in American dining habits. Shawarma Press CEO Sawsan Abublan said Mediterranean cuisine was moving from a niche trend toward a fast-casual staple, and the company has said it plans to open as many as 50 locations throughout the country over the next five years, though that figure remains a stated goal rather than a confirmed count of new restaurants. The Lawrence Journal-World separately described shawarma as an emerging fast-food trend in its own right, and the Lawrence Journal-World reported that the chain had added roughly a dozen locations, primarily in Texas and the Atlanta area, by the time the Lawrence restaurant was first being planned. The Hashim sisters' path also fits a pattern restaurantnews.com pointed to in its coverage: a growing number of young adults and college students pursuing entrepreneurship amid financial hurdles, a competitive job market and housing affordability challenges. For the sisters, that meant pairing coursework at KU with the daily grind of running a Mediterranean restaurant — one that, a year in, is operating at 947 New Hampshire Street in downtown Lawrence.
The Hashim sisters' path also fits a pattern restaurantnews.com pointed to in its coverage: a growing number of young adults and college students pursuing entrepreneurship amid financial hurdles, a competitive job market and housing affordability challenges. For the sisters, that meant pairing coursework at KU with the daily grind of running a Mediterranean restaurant — one that, a year in, has become part of the New Hampshire Street streetscape near campus.
