The King of Falafel - Falafel King

The Israeli village of Yavne sits by the Mediterranean Sea, about 20 miles south of Tel Aviv. As a boy growing up in Yavne, Avner Gilady walked to the beach and later learned about  healthy food working on a farm at a nearby kibbutz.  

Avner brought that knowledge of fresh food to Boulder, coming to Colorado as a young  man in 1977. Here he turned his passion for farm-to-table Mediterranean meals into one of the  longest-established restaurants on Pearl Street: Falafel King. When Avner bought Falafel King in  1983, the restaurant had already existed at 1314 Pearl Street for five years, opening in 1978, the  year after the Pearl Street Mall was created. 

“In the early years, we were always packed,” Avner recalls. “We were super busy. My brother worked here with me. We worked hard, serving food, washing dishes, seven days a week.  Even after we closed in the evenings, people would knock on the windows, begging to come in.” 

Avner says that in the early years of the Pearl Street Mall in the 1980s there were fewer  restaurants, and most of the retail shops were local businesses. And while the make-up of Pearl  Street businesses has changed over the decades, Avner explains that his business has changed  too. “Before, the goal was speed. If people had to wait, they would leave. Middle Eastern food  was not well known in Boulder back then. It was the right food at the right time.” 

“Now we concentrate on quality, fresh food with good service,” Avner explains. “We are  spending more time with the customers. It’s improved in many ways. We now make our own  food on site, rather than bringing it in pre-made. Our customers are getting a better product.”  

To prove his point, Avner gives me a sample of some baba gannoush that he had made  fresh that morning. It was creamy, with tiny bits of roasted eggplant. The dip was smoky, with a  hint of fresh garlic. 

He describes the painstaking process of making hummus, soaking the garbanzo beans and  finding the perfect tahini. “The tahini makes it,” Avner says, sharing with me the most important  ingredient. “Mine comes from Israel. It must be made with grinding stones.” 

While he’s proud of his baba gannoush and hummus, Avner says that his favorite food to  prepare is falafel. “We have Arab people who come here from around the world, and they say  this is the best falafel they’ve ever had,” Avner boasts. “We make everything from scratch. Many  ingredients are organic. It gives you more flavor. We grind our spice right before we need it, so  it’s fresh. When you do that, people notice.” 

During the local growing season, Avner buys much of his produce from the Boulder  County Farmers Market, a few blocks away from the restaurant. “It’s my source for eggplant, 

cucumbers, tomatoes,” he explains. “People like to see me carrying bags of produce back to the  restaurant.”  

I tell him about the plans of the Farmers Market to open a year-round market hall in the  building on 13th Street, at the north end of the street market. He says that he would definitely  shop there for food ingredients during the winter months. (Watch for more on the new Farmers  Market Hall in a future issue of The Bulletin.) 

While he sees fewer customers than he did in the 1980s, Avner says he values quality  over quantity. “If people knew what goes into what we cook, they would come here more often.  It’s delicious and healthy.” He tells me that he is constantly in search for the best food in the  world. “Our baklava is made by Syrian refugees. Our meat is Greek. It’s all about the food. You  come here to eat. That’s it. We provide the best of everything. That’s all we can do.” 

Avner grows sad when he recalls the horrific firebombing that occurred in front of the  Boulder County Courthouse, directly across the Mall from Falafel King. At the moment it  occurred, he was a few blocks away, heading back to his restaurant. “The police hadn’t arrived  yet,” he recounts, describing the scene he encountered. “There was a lot of shouting.” He got  water from the restaurant to put out the fire. He remembers fondly victim Karen Diamond, who  he had been working with on a project. “Such a nice woman,” he says softly as he grows quiet,  remembering the day.  

He tells me about some of the more famous customers who have come into Falafel King.  “Morely Safer was here,” Avner recounts of the visit by the 60 Minutes journalist. “We talked  about Israel. And then there was Tony Robbins. He asked for extra hummus.” While I’m not  famous, I must disclose that I’m addicted to Falafel King’s food. And being right next door to my  office on the Pearl Street Mall makes for a quick lunch when I’m busy.  

In addition to lunch and early dinner (Falafel King closes at 7:00), Avner says that his  catering business is booming. Last weekend he catered a bat mitzvah at Congregation Har  HaShem for 180 guests. “The girl came in and loved the food and told her parents that this is  what she wanted.” He tells me anyone interested in a catered meal can reach him at the  restaurant’s website.  

I ask Avner why Falafel King has been in business for so long, almost as long as the Pearl  Street Mall has existed. “I have nothing else I’d rather do,” he explains. “While I’d like to travel,  I love what I do. It keeps me going. I want to work.” 

A jovial and friendly man, Avner often jokes with a twinkle in his eye. “I tried to quit a  couple of times, but no one hired me,” he joshes. But then he grows serious. “There’s no reason  to close. We are Israeli, we work hard. I don’t want to retire. I enjoy taking care of customers.” 

“We’re not here for the money,” Avner explains. “We’re here for the compliments. When  people are happy with the food, there’s something special. What’s not to like about that?”

Interview Courtesy of Bob Yates.