The owners of Mazra, a beloved Middle Eastern restaurant on the Peninsula, are expanding their shawarma reach to San Francisco by trying something new, yet familiar: an over-the-counter stand at a gas station at Mission and 30th streets.
Saif Makableh, one of Mazra’s owners, chose the gas station because it’s run by his father in-law. Also, it reminds him of how you’d typically order shawarma back home in Jordan — in someone’s garage or at a gas station, said Makableh, who owns the business with his brother, Jordan.
After opening the 130-seat Mazra in downtown Redwood City last year, the San Francisco Chronicle tabbed it one of the top Middle Eastern restaurants in the Bay Area.
Makableh said the new project hits close to home.
“It reminds us of the Middle East,” said Makableh. “In the Middle East all the shawarma is very quick. You order it and within a minute you’re getting it.”
The spot will be called Dawar 7, a landmark in Makableh’s home city of Al Swaifyeh, Jordan. It’s set to open in July.
Makableh said the San Francisco outpost, located inside the gas station at 3400 Mission St., will only be serving their street wrap and their traditional wrap. The first includes a choice of protein, fries, tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, pickles and onion. The traditional wrap includes: a choice of protein, pickles, and tahini, all wrapped up in pita bread.
The stand will also have the choice of three rotating sides that include hummus, tabouli, cauliflower and baba ganoush.
Makableh said the brothers want to keep the menu limited, to focus on delivering shawarma techniques in each wrap they sell.
“This is something that I’ve always dreamt of opening — a shawarma-only place,” said Makableh. “When you have a place dedicated only to shawarma, you can really focus on that craft.”
The craft, he said, starts with picking high-quality meat that’s never been frozen, meat that’s heavy in marbling.
“The craft is making sure that the fat is rendered before you slice it very thinly, or the customer’s chewing on fat,” said Makableh. “We make that a huge point in our restaurants when we make shawarmas. I think that is the biggest difference.”
The Makableh brothers started their restaurant run in 2020 when they started grilling kebabs at their dad’s Mediterranean eatery, Green Valley Market in San Bruno.
The establishment quickly became a sensation among Mediterranean food lovers, who waited in lines that went out the door following the restaurant’s No. 2 rank in Yelp’s “Top 100” restaurants in the country back in 2021.
The restaurant made the list again in 2024, this time ranking No. 23.
Mazra was forced to close its doors for three months after a fire involving its charcoal grill in June, and the San Bruno location has been closed since March for renovations, but is expected to reopen in the spring.
The brothers are also opening a cafe serving Turkish pastries down the street from the original Mazra next month.
Oscar is a reporter with interest in environmental and community journalism, and how these may intersect. Some of his personal interests are bicycles, film, and both Latin American literature and punk. Oscar’s work has previously appeared in KQED, The Frisc, El Tecolote, and Golden Gate Xpress.
