Category: Food

Sevmar Mediterranean Bistro coming to Salem

Boldness, intimacy, virtue and excellence — these are the four core values Jocelyn Maroun said she is taking to heart as she gets ready to launch her newest restaurant venture.

Sevmar Mediterranean Bistro, on track to open soon inside Salem’s 97 Shops Plaza, gets its name by combining Maroun’s last name with that of Kelvin Severino, owner of the national demolition company ADEP Group and Maroun’s business partner. The eatery promises traditional Mediterranean appetizers, entrees, salads and other items with a modernized twist, along with a full bar, a Sunday brunch menu, catering options and more.

It’s a new concept for the space, although Maroun said it doesn’t really feel that way. That’s because the very same storefront was once home to Salem Kabob — owned first by her father, and later by her cousins — dating back to 2001. For more than a decade, Maroun herself also ran Jocelyn’s Mediterranean Restaurant & Martini Lounge on Route 28 with her partner.

“The community knows Jocelyn’s and Salem Kabob and it feels good that it has that good reputation,” Maroun said, “and so I want people to know that it’s going to be the same quality, if not better. It’s delicious, and it’s going to be friendly and inviting. I plan on being here every open hour to greet every customer that walks in, and I just want it to be a happy place.”

Returning to the site of Maroun’s father’s former restaurant, she and Severino have been hard at work the last few months gutting out the space, adding everything from a marble top bar to new slate floors and light fixtures to give it a uniquely hip bistro-like vibe. They’ve even added an old British telephone booth they bought that had to be delivered by a crane.

Much of Sevmar’s menu contains some of the same family recipes going back more than two decades to Maroun’s father’s tenure as owner of Salem Kabob. Additionally, Maroun and Severino have recruited longtime chef Sayde Elkhoury, who has more than 25 years of restaurant experience and who, like both of Maroun’s own parents, was born and raised in Lebanon.

But unlike Salem Kabob, which was takeout only, Sevmar offers dine-in service with about 42 seats, although Maroun said that online reservations through OpenTable will be recommended.

You’ll find many of the traditional items here that Maroun’s family has been known for over the years, from the hummus and the taboule to the falafel, stuffed grape leaves, spanakopita and baked kibbe, plus additional options like fried cauliflower served with a tahini sauce, and halloumi, or a mild cheese that’s grilled and served with olives, mint, tomatoes and pita bread.

Larger, entree-sized items include beef and chicken shawarma, and custom-grilled haddock and salmon. You’ll also find something on the menu called Gaby’s grilled chicken (named after Maroun’s father) — that’s marinated in olive oil, vinegar, lemon and fresh garlic.

“When we were kids, my father would make that chicken that was to die for … and we used to joke about one day selling it,” she said. “It’s the same recipe that we have now at Sevmar.”

Other options include various wraps — which come with french fries and with the option to add feta cheese or a garlic spread — and bowls that are served over rice pilaf. Choose a specialty option like a beef or chicken shawarma bowl or a vegan bowl with taboule and hummus, or build your own by picking a protein (chicken, beef, lamb, salmon or falafel), a sauce (tzatziki, tahini or house dressing) and other toppings (lettuce, cucumber, tomato or pickled onion).

“It’s food with delicious and healthy, organic, from-scratch ingredients,” Maroun said.

Brunch will soon be available on Sundays, she added, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“When I say ‘brunch’ it’s not just, like, eggs and grits. It’s a brunch party, Miami-style,” she said. “I started doing brunch at Jocelyn’s before I left there, and there was tropical music, people would dress up, [and] they drank Champagne. It was a vibe.”

As for the space directly next door to the restaurant, Maroun said plans are in the works to soon make it home to a cocktail lounge and event room, which they are calling Identity by Sevmar.

“The concepts are going to overlap in the sense that … Sevmar will be a place where you might come early with your kids to have dinner, or on a date and it’s very intimate, and then Identity will be a little bit more upscale,” she said.

Sevmar Mediterranean Bistro
An opening date is expected to be announced soon. Visit the website, call or follow them on social media for updates.
Where: 401 Main St., Unit 108, Salem
Anticipated hours: Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday brunch is also coming soon.
More info: Visit sevmarbistronh.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram @sevmarbistro or call 870-0018

Featured photo: Sevmar Mediterranean Bistro. Courtesy photo.

Cool Beans Cafe to open soon in Manchester

A new shop coming soon to Manchester is inviting coffee lovers to make it their new favorite spot, with a full lineup of espresso-based drinks using locally roasted beans, in addition to a food menu of breakfast and lunch wraps and sandwiches, soups, grab-and-go pastries and more.

It’s called Cool Beans Cafe, and it’s the brainchild of owner Kris Gabbard, whose 8-year-old daughter Madilyn picked the name. Last March, Gabbard took over the Queen City storefront — the former home of the Siberia Food Market, a stone’s throw away from the fork between Willow and Pine streets — and he’s been hard at work ever since getting it ready, painting the walls, building his own sitting tables and renovating the kitchen and bathroom. An avid traveler, he has decked out the space with his colorful license plate collection along the walls.

Originally from eastern Kentucky, Gabbard came to New Hampshire to be with family members. He and his brother Jeff managed the Black Bear Cafe of Ossipee for a short time.

“I had always wanted to open some kind of restaurant,” Gabbard said. “The cafe my brother and I had, that was already established. It was already up and running when we went in. … The guy that owned it was an investor, and he ended up selling the property when we left.”

Coffees served at Cool Beans Cafe are made with beans sourced through Mill City Roasting Co. of Londonderry, which is providing Gabbard with his own house blend. He’s also bringing in a variety of handcrafted loose-leaf teas and will have other drink options, like Italian sodas with the option to choose from several flavored premium syrups as add-ins. Bagged coffee beans by the pound or half-pound, both whole-bean and ground, will also be available.

For food items, Gabbard is focusing on breakfast and lunch sandwiches, with options like Italian grilled chicken, a cranberry walnut chicken salad wrap and a rustic grilled cheese, featuring cheddar cheese, bacon, tomato and honey mustard on a ciabatta roll. A refrigerated case at the counter will be where you’ll find some grab-and-go items — he’s thinking fruit and yogurt parfaits with granola, as well as some flavors of cakes and cake bars. Other pastries and baked goods like muffins, scones, cookies and cinnamon rolls round out the food menu.

“Right across the parking lot, I have an office over there that also has a full kitchen,” Gabbard said. “So I’ll do the baking over there, and I have storage over there as well. … The idea is that, where it’s a small space, I’ll have one of everything in that case that’s already dressed up, and then I have the fridge back there that I’ll pull from and serve.”

Down the line, Gabbard said he hopes to add to his menu with new items like smoothies, and he has plans to allow visitors of the cafe to utilize it as a community space.

“I want to be able to rent it out after hours or weekends, if someone wants to have a baby shower or a function or something like that,” he said. “Then, in the evenings, I want to do a paint night here once a month, and I’m just trying to fill some nights with some other activities and things that I can do.”

Cool Beans Cafe
An opening date is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Visit their website or follow them on social media for updates.
Where: 100 Willow St., Unit 1, Manchester
Anticipated hours: Wednesday through Monday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Tuesdays (hours may be subject to change).
More info: Visit coolbeanscafe603.com, find them on Facebook or call 206-5924

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.