OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio — There aren't many ingredients that go into making Muntaha Dari’s homemade hummus, but there is a lot of love, effort and hard work.
What You Need To Know
- Owners of a gas station in northeast Ohio go above and beyond for their customers
- The Mobil gas station on Columbia Road in Olmsted Falls is a destination for foodies and fans of Mama Mary’s Hummus
- The hummus was named northeast Ohio's best hummus in 2018
- They also offer other Middle Eastern food and sandwiches
- The owners said gas is just the extra perk for their customers
“People think, okay, what's so hard about making hummus but it's actually a lot of work. It's a lot of preparation, a lot of time consuming,” said Dari, founder of Mama Mary's Hummus. “I truly believe love is a big part of cooking. And when you cook and you put your heart in it it's gonna show, it's gonna show in the taste of the food.”
Muntaha Dari is better known throughout northeast Ohio as Mama Mary. She’s from Palestine. Her family bought the Mobil gas station on Columbia Road in Olmsted Falls about 10 years ago. Day by day, they’ve turned it into a staple in the community.
“It's like a small family shop. You know, I don't even consider it a gas station. It's a small family, you know, deli,” said Dari. "Gas is the extra perk. We don't even rely on the gas, we rely on the hummus and the food that we sell in here.”
Dari is famous for her hummus. It’s widely known as gas station hummus, but many consider it gourmet. It was voted best hummus in northeast Ohio in 2018 by Cleveland Magazine and brings in customers from all over the state.
“Any chance that I come up this way I load up,” said Nichole McCluggage, a customer. “I've lived in New York, North, South Carolina, all over Florida, all over Ohio and this is the best hummus I've ever had.”
But the queen of hummus doesn't even like hummus herself. Dari said she started making the food because of the love she has for her Palestinian roots.
“I know how I like hummus if I was a fan of hummus. I know how it should taste and I know how I want it to taste. So I make it, if it's good enough for me and my family, it's good enough for the customers and their families,” said Dari. “It’s a staple in Palestine and a staple in the Middle East and that's why I love to share our food, I love to share our culture.”
Dari makes more than 13 different flavors of hummus including traditional, cranberry, garlic, jalapeno, everything bagel, pickle, spicy, roasted red pepper, sundried tomato and feta, kalamata olive, vegan buffalo, buffalo chicken and a few seasonal flavors like pomegranate and chocolate. She doesn’t use preservatives and only uses natural ingredients.
Mama Mary’s Hummus has been around since 2014. She credits the Facebook group NEO Foodies to making her well-known throughout northeast Ohio and said her customers are what keep her cooking.
“By the end of the day, I'm exhausted. I'm tired. And I'm like, okay, I'm done. I'm not gonna do this again. And then after a weekend of rest I'm like, I gotta go back, I can't, I cannot disappoint my customers,” said Dari. “Sometimes I'll be back here making hummus and I won't have, for instance, the pickle hummus out there. And a customer would come and ask, 'Oh, do you guys have pickle hummus?' And I'm like, actually, I'm working on it right now. Give me a couple of minutes.
"And I'll really, really fast I'll get how many containers they want, I'll decorate it, package it up and give it to them. I'll stop whatever I'm doing and do that and go out of my way to do that and just give it to them.”
And it’s not just the hummus and great hospitality that keeps customers coming back. They’ve made a name for themselves beyond their hummus game.
At their deli they offer food like gyro sandwiches, corned and roast beef sandwiches, teriyaki chicken, falafel sandwiches, chicken wraps and more. It’s a daily lunch spot for many workers in the area.
“This food is different and it’s good,” said Samson Snowden, a customer. “You see it’s hot and ready? It ain't just sitting around, they make it hot and ready. Yeah, it’s for sure the best gas station around here.”
Dari said her home is Ohio, but her heart is in Palestine. Her hummus is just one way she stays close to her roots and shares her culture with Ohio.
“This is my passion. Cooking is my passion. And I enjoy it like I said to me cooking is therapy, cooking is love. I enjoy it. When I cook, I cook from my heart. I cook to make people happy,” said Dari. “We are good people and what better way to bring people together and to learn about each other's culture is with food, and especially food made with love.”
Mama Mary’s Hummus is sold at a few different gas stations throughout northeast Ohio and is currently open to expanding distribution. To keep up with the journey or to contact the business, follow Mama Mary's Instagram.