David Nussbaum is passionate about Israeli food, and in particular, hummus — so much so, that he kept his restaurant, Aviv Hummus Bar, running through a pandemic that shuttered other successful restaurants in the neighborhood.

His is a passion that shows up in the hummus made fresh daily and the falafel fried fresh for each order, so it’s no wonder that on September 8th of 2022, he celebrated five years of serving not just Capitol Hill, but customers from all over Washington.

As the only “Hummus Bar” in the state, Nussbaum’s love for hummus is what keeps Aviv going.

“It’s a lifestyle. It’s simple, it’s sexy, it’s delicious. It can be eaten any time of the day; breakfast, lunch, dinner. And when it’s done right, when you don’t overload it with garlic and all these spices, and you have the best quality tahini, there’s just a flavor that you get from it that you can’t get with what I call “hummus” (“HUHM-uhs.”), which is like chunky and thick and all sorts of different flavors,” Nussbaum said. “So I’m really a purist when it comes to it. Keep it simple and clean and the nuttiness of the chickpea and the tahini come forward, it’s life changing.”

Call Nussbaum’s creations “HOOM-uhs.”

CHS reported here on the 2017 opening of Aviv on Capitol Hill in the former home of the Gyro Cafe neighboring longtime neighborhood favorite Teriyaki Madness. In 2021, Aviv expanded with a shawarma-focused cousin in South Lake Union but the concept didn’t catch on and has since shuttered.

The Aviv original continues. There’s a community atmosphere in the small restaurant, and according to Nussbaum, in Israel, where his parents are from, the hummus bar is as ubiquitous as Starbucks is here.

“In Seattle, we’ve got breweries and coffee shops,” Nussbaum said. “In Israel, it’s a hummus bar on every block, and so you just meet up have a good time and enjoy the food.”

Nussbaum is a Seattle local, but his parents are from Israel and he still has family there he visited often. When returning to the United States, Nussbaum felt like something was missing.

“When you come back to the States after visiting Israel, there’s just a void in your stomach and you just crave it and you want it so bad.”

Although he had worked in restaurants his entire adult life, he “was waiting for someone to open a place like this and never happened. I just got to a point that I said, ‘You know what, I’ll do it.” Nussbaum flew to Israel and spent “a couple summers there, learning as much as I could, working in some kitchens and eating at every hummus bar that I could.”

Since no one was willing to share their secret family recipes, Nussbaum had to remember the taste and practice often.

“I had to come back with the taste in my memory and just make it from scratch for like two years,” he says. “I was making hummus every day in the kitchen. And then one day, it just it tasted right. I got the right ratio of tahini, I cooked the beans properly, and I was like, okay, this is the recipe, and it hasn’t changed since.”

Today, Aviv will go through more than 50 pounds of hummus in a day so Nussbaum is still often found in the kitchen.

Customers are greeted by white walls and pops of color throughout which makes Aviv as welcoming a lunch spot, as it is a dine-in dinner option. If you sit at the bar, you can see how the falafel is made and Nussbaum recommends you try the desserts, too.

“Everyone is down with what we’re doing because it’s legit food,” he says. “Either you grew up with the food or you love Mediterranean food. Everyone is coming here for the same reason…ultimately everyone is coming here for the food and that’s what I’m most proud of.”

Aviv Hummus Bar is located at 107 15th Ave E. You can learn more at avivhummusbar.com.

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