The teams behind Tacofino and Cafe Medina are joining forces with Abdallah El Chami of The Dallah Menu to open a new Middle Eastern restaurant in Victoria this summer. They’ve taken over the the old Pig BBQ location at 1325 Blanshard Street and are already transforming the 1500 sqft space with the help of Kate Snyder and Jessica McDonald of Vancouver design firm Studio Roslyn.

The plan is for a quick-service spot focused on Levant-inspired food made with seasonal ingredients (think falafel, shawarma, pita and hummus with a few West Coast nods). The look will follow the sun-bleached colonial aesthetic with high ceilings, white walls, mid-century design elements and a washed out, old school donair poster or two. They’re calling it Superbaba.

It came together pretty quickly in March. Robbie Kane of Medina was thinking of a Middle Eastern concept and the Tacofino crew (Jason Sussman Ryan Spong, Josh Carlsen, Mike Dawson) were looking to do something similar. When searching for locations in Victoria their paths started crossing. When the Pig BBQ space became available both parties wanted it (and to work with the Jawl family that owns it), so they put in with each other.

They officially took possession on May 1st. Right now they are still trying to figure out how to get their new Woodstone oven into the building (the windows will likely have to be removed). It’s a vital piece of machinery for their housemade sourdough-started pita bread, which they are especially excited about. Their goal is to have Superbaba – all of 40 seats and a small patio – operational by some point in July. Opening hours are expected to be 7 days a week from 11am to 11pm.