Move over, guacamole. Step aside, salsa. Take a ride, pimento cheese. Hummus is having a moment, and new local brand Snuuny is here for it, with 8-ounce containers in the cooler case at French Broad Food Co-op and coming soon to other groceries and tailgate markets. It all started with the sky-blue Yalla food truck.
Nathan Phillips and chef Nir Asaf rolled out Yalla in March 2024, and it became clear almost immediately that the most popular item on its Mediterranean street food menu was the hummus bowl, plain and drizzled with olive oil or with toppings like mushrooms, peppers and eggplant.
Then again, Phillips says with a laugh, “We put our hummus pretty much on or in or under everything on the Yalla menu.”
As locals tasted Yalla’s hummus at the truck’s primary parking spot, Catawba Brewing, and weekly at the West Asheville Tailgate Market and River Arts District Market, the partners frequently heard this feedback: “Have you heard of Roots hummus? We miss it. You need to get yours in stores.”
Phillips was aware of the popular local hummus company, which suddenly went out of business in March 2023. “We loved it too, but in the beginning, we were focused on getting the food truck solid.”
When Tropical Storm Helene hit Asheville, as soon as the partners could get out of their respective neighborhoods, they drove Yalla downtown, parked in front of the LaZoom Room on Biltmore Avenue and began cooking and distributing free meals, accepting donations as people were able.
“We were making so much hummus,” Phillips recalls. “We got very good at making a lot of hummus very quickly. It inspired us to start thinking bigger than the truck. Coming out of the storm, we wanted to bring something good to our community.”
Phillips and Asaf launched Snuuny Hummus from Yalla’s Marshall commercial kitchen space, which wasn’t damaged by Helene. The recipes are Nir’s. Born in the Middle East, the chef has been making hummus his entire life.
“We think people can taste the difference in our hummus,” says Phillips. “We have the tahini flown in from Israel and use local produce.”
Phillips drew on his marketing background to direct the design of the logo, packaging and website. Snuuny, he says, means “to be delighted by our differences and see the beauty in everyone.”
Snuuny’s three introductory flavors are original, spicy jalapeno cilantro and a slightly sweet roasted red beet. The partners intend to add more, including Yalla Amba, a spicy pickled mango.
“Chef Nir is adamant that hummus is more than a dip or a spread or a little bowl to fill if there’s room on a charcuterie board,” Phillips says. “He is a hummus evangelist. We hope that by the end of this year, we’ll be in every tailgate market, every local grocery and that everyone knows Snuuny.”
For more information, visit avl.mx/ekl.
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