Hummus Factory moves from food truck to permanent western Las Vegas spot

You used to get chef Tony Tabet’s fusion of tastes only from his food truck. Nowadays, The Hummus Factory enjoys a prime location at 7875 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 101.

The 3,000-square-foot space seats just under 80 and boasts an open concept and upscale touches such as the quartz countertop seating and staggered ceiling heights.

Tabet has been in the food industry since he was 15. He helped at his family’s restaurants in Texas and in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he would experiment with mixing flavors.

He attended what is now the College of Southern Nevada as an automotive student. He tinkers on cars as a hobby.

In 2012, he opted to start his own eatery on wheels. He bought a used taco truck, pulled out the engine and replaced it with a Cadillac Escalade engine. His total commitment was about $60,000. It was the beginning of the food truck craze, and he figured his was the first to do Mediterranean food that was fused with Asian influences.

“I wanted to be different and cool,” Tabet said. “Some recipes I didn’t mess with. The kibbi, it’s like a meatloaf. I didn’t touch that. Or the sujuk, the spicy beef sausage.”

Two months into the venture, he realized parking at various spots meant patrons had difficulty finding him. Then there was the price sticker shock spurred by his top-quality ingredients.

“People said paying $8 for a burger was too much,” he said. “But it was grass-fed (meat).”

Tabet switched to taking the food truck to big draws such as the Electric Daisy Carnival and the Life Is Beautiful festival and fed the crowds at the various downtown and Fremont Street Experience events, as well as doing weddings and bachelor parties.

The toughest part?

“The heat in the truck,” he said. “It was probably, like, 115 degrees. You’re cooking on a grill that’s fired up to 350 (degrees).”

He sold the truck in October and began looking for a brick-and-mortar location. It took five months, and he landed the corner spot just west of Buffalo Drive. The place was gutted — it didn’t even have a bathroom — so he put his handyman skills to work and installed the necessary elements, then tackled the dining room decor. He opted for minimal decor accents based on his mechanic’s background – gears and antique meat grinders. The hanging lights have an industrial edge to them. There are about a dozen tables.

“Here, I can talk with my customers more and interact with them,” he said. “I like them to see the place, see the cleanliness.”

Before it was The Hummus Factory, Robert Levy owned and operated the Levy’s Bagels & Deli in the same spot. He stopped in to see the new eatery.

“You made a counter where I had a deli case, a pastry case. … The setup is similar to what I had. The kitchen was back there. It looks very nice,” he said.

The Hummus Factory opened at the end of May. Tabet’s wife, Nikki, and his stepdaughter, Mimi, 16, help him run the restaurant along with more than 12 employees.

Visit hummusfactorylv.com or call 702-675-6020.

To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.