It will be grape leaves and tabouli at The Mideast Kitchen, one of several ethnic-flavored restaurant opening or expanding in Quincy Center.
Add an Indian restaurant, too, to the downtown mix and an expansion of Alba, which bills itself as a Mediterranean steak house.
In recent years, the downtown area has added places to get falafel, Brazilian barbecue, Korean barbecue, Mexican and multiplying options for sushi and Chinese. Just outside the square, are Filipino, Pakistani and Vietnamese eateries and grocery stores.
“It reflects a change in the population of the City of Quincy,” said Joseph Shea, Quincy’s longtime city clerk and license board chairman. “It also shows we’re becoming more and more of an urban meeting place for Greater Boston people. That used to be reserved for just Cambridge. Now it’s coming to the South Shore, and Quincy has a lot to offer.”
Scott Palmer, who is of Lebanese and Italian descent, is betting his hometown of Quincy is ready to embrace another establishment serving Lebanese and Mideast foods.
“I’m really excited that Quincy’s taking this change and becoming a little more diverse and a little more cultural,” said Palmer, who previously served Middle Eastern cuisine in his former restaurant, Cedar Cafe in Hanover.
Palmer is working to convert a closed takeout spot near the Quincy Center MBTA station into The Mideast Kitchen.
He said the restaurant, located in the former Over Eazy at 1259B Hancock St., will be an express takeout restaurant serving shish kabobs, stuffed grape leaves, tabouli and hummus. It’s up for license board approval later this month. It will be one of a series of new ethnic-flavored entrants into Quincy Center.
The Blue 22 Restaurant at 1237 Hancock St. is being sold to Manju Kaushal and Mandeep Singh of Somerville, a brother-sister pair who plan to open an Indian restaurant there called Sher-a-Punjab.
Alba, a downtown staple, is on track to open an expanded dining room by the end of the month and hiring 20 employees, owner Leo Keka said.
Palmer said he expects the promise of the $1.6 billion Quincy Center redevelopment to lure a lot more restaurateurs looking to establish a foothold here before construction begins.
“I think Quincy is only going to get better and better,” he said. “It’s going to be the place to be.”
READ MORE about this issue.
Jack Encarnacao may be reached at jencarnacao@ledger.com.