Cod, catfish & fried Oreos. Owner of KC’s Jerusalem Cafe opens new quick-serve eatery

Farid Azzeh has been a mainstay in Westport since his family’s first eatery opened there in mid-1990.

He grew up in Jerusalem and used many of his mother’s recipes for that eatery, Westport Sizzler, which later changed its name to Jerusalem Cafe.

It relocated a block away and expanded in late 2019.

Azzeh took the former space at 431 Westport Road and split it up. Chick-in Waffle opened in part of the space in early 2020. Now the quick-serve Westport Fish & Chips has taken the other half.

“Westport is special. It was good at the beginning for me and I said ‘stay here.’ It is very multicultural,” Azzeh said.

Westport Fish & Chips serves cod, catfish and shrimp (original or spicy), along with chips, coleslaw, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, fresh-squeezed lemonade, funnel cakes and fried Oreos.

Azzeh’s son, Anas, runs the two sister restaurants, as well as a new Chick-in Waffle at 4800 E. Bannister Road.

Chick-in Waffle offers buttermilk chicken topped with maple syrup and a waffle (as well as a sriracha version), loaded fries (queso, Buffalo cheese, chili cheese, pizza, Nashville hot, Asian chili, spicy honey garlic or poutine with brown gravy and Parmesan and mozzarella cheese), waffle sliders, wings and desserts.

Jerusalem Cafe relocated to 515 Westport Road in late 2019. Azzeh’s son, Adam, runs that restaurant.

This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.