By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
On April 28, Kamal Keroles and all in the Babouch Moroccan Restaurant family are going to celebrate the restaurant’s 40th anniversary and the passing of the torch to its new owners, Trina Mendoza and Jasiree Fournier.
Kamal Keroles and his younger brother Youssef Keroles opened Babouch in April 1978. Kamal studied marketing and business administration and his brother culinary arts in San Francisco.
“We don’t like to drive to work,” Kamal said. “The family lives here and we thought that the competition wouldn’t be as severe here.”
Kamal said he noticed people in Los Angeles are generally willing to drive to eat at a good Moroccan restaurant.
“That’s what happened to us when we found a good location,” he said. “People from all around began to come here.”
Kamal didn’t start off knowing he was going to open a restaurant. The idea of running his own business or becoming a restaurateur wasn’t a foreign idea to him. He noted that many members of his family have gone into business for themselves — businesses ranging from gas stations to restaurants, even a pharmacy.
Their passion for Moroccan cuisine was born when they worked as apprentices to the great Moroccan Chef Mehdi Ziani, who was the personal chef for Hassan II of Morocco.
Kamal was born and raised in Egypt. But because of his apprenticeship with Mehdi Ziani, he traveled frequently to Morocco to absorb the culture and bring back authentic décor for his restaurant.
“Moroccan cuisine is one most popular cuisines in the world behind French, Chinese and possibly Indian cuisines,” Kamal said.
Kamal counts the years after Babouch first opened as the most exciting.
“A lot of times we had fundraisers here at Babouch,” he said. “We always wanted to try to get involved in the community with different groups and organizations. That was a lot of fun.”
Kamal noted that it wasn’t until he added a catering dimension to their services that Babouch became as successful it did.
He recounted the relationship formed with the former New Figueroa Hotel in Los Angeles, which was known for its Moroccan style décor. Kamal noted that Babouch would receive a lot of requests to hold weddings at their restaurant until it was realized the restaurant couldn’t accommodate 200 guests. The New Figueroa Hotel was often the wedding party’s next destination. But when it discovered that the hotel didn’t have a large kitchen, the wedding party would hire Babouch Moroccan Restaurant to cater the wedding. This happened a few times before the restaurant and the hotel decided to form a partnership.
The partnership endured for 10 years before the hotel was sold and underwent a complete makeover, moving away from the Moroccan décor.
After 40 years of operating Babouch, Kamal said he was extremely happy he was able to hand-off the restaurant to people who love it as he did and would keep it largely the same way. If anything, the new owners, Trina and Jasiree plan to cast Babouch in the mold of the Hollywood Golden Age film, Casablanca, in a bid to add an extra layer of romanticism to the restaurant.
One might say, they are going to play it again, Sam.