Tucked between the SoKY Ice Rink and Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center hides the Historic Taylor’s Chapel Community Kitchen, home to Bowling Green’s only authentic Syrian restaurant. 

WKU Computer Information Technology professor Ismail Abumuhfouz and his two colleagues opened Damascus Delicacies in April 2025. The restaurant addresses the lack of Middle Eastern restaurants in the area and cooks and sells authentic Syrian cuisine. 

The three met through the International Center of Kentucky’s refugee resettlement program, when Abumufouz and his wife volunteered to help Ahmed, Ghassan and other Syrian refugees who arrived in January of 2025. 

Abumuhfouz, who is originally from Jordan, has been in Bowling Green since 2007 and has since seen only two Middle Eastern restaurants open and close their doors. 

“Sometimes I have to drive two and a half hours to Lexington to eat something and come back,” he said. “So we said, okay, you know what? Why don’t we open our own restaurant and go there?” 

Damascus Delicacies is open at the shared Community Kitchen on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

“We have customers that come every Saturday or every Sunday,” Abumuhfouz said. “Some customers say, ‘We dream about you on Wednesday, and we keep asking when you guys are going to open on Saturday.’” 

The three owners call the establishment a “side hustle.” Abumuhfouz said that they wish they could be open seven days a week, and are currently thinking about trying to find a more permanent location. 

The restaurant serves a variety of traditional Syrian dishes, including various types of shawarma and falafel, rice, salads and kibbeh. The open kitchen lets customers see the dishes being prepared through glass windows. 

Abumuhfouz said that they look for the first reaction of the customer when serving food, with affordable prices and large portion sizes eliciting wows from unexpected customers.

He said most of the customers they serve are American, with some coming from as far as Michigan to try the food. 

Abumuhfouz said that he would be happy cooking something for someone who’s never left their towns and getting them to say “Wow, this is good, I wanted to eat more, I wanted to learn more about your story, I want to learn more about your country.” 

Erin Napier, a repeat customer of Damascus Delicacies and a Bowling Green native, said that restaurants like Damascus Delicacies help people experience different things in a city that’s gotten more diverse over the years. 

Elfaitouri Alhashmi, another repeat customer from Libya, said that he feels a connection between the food the restaurant offers and his own background. 

“I love shawarma, I grew (up) basically eating shawarma and other similar foods,” Alhasmi said. “Part of it (is also) kind of tribal thinking, I like supporting my own community.”

The owners of Damascus Delicacies know that not everyone is willing to try their food. 

“I know there is a lot of darkness these days, especially with the current political atmosphere here in the town, but at the same time, that does not mean we have to hide,” Abumuhfouz said. “This is part of our culture, that’s who we are. So we are so proud of what we have.”