New Falafel Eatery Caters to Parsippany Lunch Crowd

Whether you call them garbanzos, chickpeas or fava beans, when crushed, rolled into a ball and deep-friend to crispy perfection, they become falafel, a popular staple in the Mediterranean region and around the world. The Middle Eastern delicacy is the heart and soul of a just-open business being discovered by Parsippany's 9 to 5ers.

Sitting on Route 10 is CRISP, and just being open and doing business is a victory for owner Johnny Makkar, a former New York advertising and digital marketing professional who first told Patch of his dream to bring vegetarian felafel to Parsippany's masses months ago. In the interim, he and partner Caroline Helmy endured and overcame a host of roadblocks prior to his ribbon-cutting last Friday, which featured Denville Mayor Thomas Andes.

There might be an urge to take a breather after enduring so much just to get his franchise location open, but Makkar is pushing forward.

"After everything, I am even more determined to make the restaurant successful," Makkar said. "Parsippany, we're here. Come and get a taste of CRISP."

1.  It's been a long trial getting CRISP up and running. Share a few of the challenges you dealt with.

"Few challenges" is putting it lightly. This is a complicated question to answer but let me say I wouldn't recommend the trials I went through to get CRISP open to anyone, especially anyone that is determined to become a first-time small business or restaurant owner. The most difficult part about it all in our case was probably the fact that most of the delays were out of our control. I read somewhere that the typical length of time it takes to open a restaurant is on average one year from the very start to finish. Key words: on average. That will vary greatly by months or even years depending on certain factors and of course pitfalls that may arise. And there will be pitfalls. I only have this new restaurant startup experience (CRISP) to relate to but it probably goes without saying that this applies to any new business venture, not just restaurants. Now it's simply about putting the past behind and focusing on providing the best possible experience for our customers. If any of your readers would like to hear firsthand about my experience, they can reach out to me directly and I will do my best to help.

2.  What led you to the idea of opening a fast-casual falafel restaurant in the area?

I was a frequent lunch customer at one of the midtown New York City CRISP locations. Alon Kruvi, the architect behind the brand has simply created a really appealing concept that people have loved for many years in New York and now in N.J. What separates the CRISP philosophy from anyone else is Alon was the first to combine different cultural flavors in a traditional falafel pita with really delicious results.

There are two things transforming the food industry right now: technology and the growth of health-conscience consumers. Any restaurant owner that doesn’t realize technology is transforming their business is in trouble. There is a fairly new term (I think) which I've seen being used in articles—flexitarian. I'm not even sure if I like it but CRISP is a great meatless alternative for people looking for better lunch or dinner options without spending too much. I believe innovation in the vegetarian category is much more exciting than anything else happening in the food industry, especially fast-casual.

3.  Who is your target audience and why do you think that they will be taken by CRISP?

Everyone should be able to enjoy a perfect falafel. Even kids love the falafel burger!

4.  What are your hopes once you're open, and what can guests expect?

The response to our opening has been really encouraging and it's only been a few days with shortened hours! Word of mouth from people walking away happy has been everything I hoped for so far. One of my staff members overheard a customer mention she saw our menu on Facebook and couldn't wait until we opened so she tried to recreate the Africa sandwich at home. That's awesome. I think people want an authentic relationship with the restaurants that are selling them food so they can expect that from us here . Eventually, we'll offer catering and delivery to the surrounding area but no timeline yet on when that will happen.

5.  Why Parsippany?

The Morris County region is populated by some of the most affluent residents in N.J. Furthermore, Parsippany sits in the employment epicenter of the county, an area dominated by large-scale office buildings, corporate campuses and business parks—which is exactly the clientele CRISP caters to.