Hidden Gems: Meet Sumer Durkee of Mid East Eats

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sumer Durkee.

Hi Sumer, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
We started Mid East Eats kind of by accident. I had been working as a house manager for a Hollywood producer, and I was let go from my job. I started cooking privately for another family, and the mom really loved my falafel. She always told me that I should sell my falafel.

When they left town for the summer, I needed a way to make some money. Back home in Palestine, falafel is a popular street food, and I felt like I couldn’t find really good falafel in LA. So my husband and I decided to just make it ourselves,

We started doing little pop-ups and events, selling falafel, and it slowly grew from there. Then LA County passed the MEHKO law, which made it possible to legally run a restaurant out of your home. A health inspector comes to your house and inspects your kitchen just like they would a restaurant, so we decided to go for it.

Now we host Palestinian dinners in our front yard, do fundraisers and supper clubs, and take on larger pickup and delivery orders. We also brought on Chef Heidi, who does really fun global fusion food for our supper clubs.

But for me, Mid East Eats has always been about more than just the food. I really wanted to recreate the kind of hospitality I grew up with in Palestine. You invite people into your home, even if you’ve never met them before. You make tea and coffee, play cards, eat together, and somehow dinner turns into hours of talking and hanging out.

That’s what we’re trying to create here in LA, a place where people can come into our home, share a meal, meet new people, and feel like they’re part of something.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s definitely been up and down. In the beginning, doing pop-ups is not for the weak. It’s physically and mentally exhausting, and there were definitely times when we didn’t make money or barely broke even.

The restaurant business can be really volatile, especially when you’re doing pop-ups. You never really know how many people are going to show up or whether people are going to buy your food. You can spend days preparing, buy all the ingredients, rent equipment, set everything up, and then have a slow day.

Thankfully, having our MEHKO kitchen has helped keep us afloat. It gives us a little more consistency because we can take orders, do private dinners, and host events from our home. It’s still a lot of work, but having different ways to bring in income has made a huge difference for us.

There have definitely been hard days, but we’ve learned a lot along the way, and we’re still here, which feels like a pretty big accomplishment in itself.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Mid East Eats?
Mid East Eats is a Palestinian home restaurant based out of our home in Watts, LA. We specialize in Palestinian food, especially falafel, but we’ve grown into so much more than that. We host private Palestinian dinners in our front yard, supper clubs, fundraisers, pop-ups, and also offer large pickup and delivery orders.

What really sets us apart is the experience. We’re not trying to be a traditional restaurant. We wanted to bring the hospitality we grew up with in Palestine to LA. Our home is part of the experience. People come into our space, sit together, share food, drink tea and coffee, play cards, and spend time together. A lot of the time, people come as strangers and leave feeling like they’ve made new friends.

We’re also proud of the fact that we’ve been able to build something that represents our culture in a way that feels very authentic to us. Food is such a huge part of Palestinian culture and identity, and being able to share that with people through our food and our home means a lot to us.

Of course, we’re known for our food, but we want people to know that Mid East Eats is really about community, hospitality, and bringing people together around a table. Whether someone comes to one of our dinners, orders falafel for a party, or joins us for a supper club, we want them to feel like they’ve been welcomed into our home.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I think luck has played a big role in our story, both good and bad. Losing my job felt like really bad luck at the time, but if it hadn’t happened, Mid East Eats probably wouldn’t exist. I was lucky to cook for a family who loved my falafel and encouraged me to sell it.

It’s also very bittersweet to have a Palestinian business during the genocide against my people. On one hand, it’s incredibly painful to watch what’s happening in Palestine. On the other, it has brought us so many supporters and people who want to learn about and celebrate Palestinian food and culture. We’ve definitely had some hate along the way, but the love and support have been so much greater.

Pricing:

• Private Dinners up to 8ppl: $198pp
• Pickup Minimum Order: $300
• Delivery Minimum Order: $500
• Supper Clubs: Free – $125
• Private Dinner Buffets (9ppl+): $1,000+

Contact Info:

• Website: https://MidEastEats.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/mid.east.eats
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569442315202
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mideasteats
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mid-east-eats-los-angeles-4

Image Credits
IG @juneexpressions

Matt Gush