photo by: AdobeStock

Shawarma-style meat on a rotisserie spit is pictured in this stock image.

Let the meat spinning begin. A downtown restaurant spot is set to go from seafood to shawarma.

A plan has been filed at Lawrence City Hall for a Shawarma Press restaurant to locate at 947 New Hampshire Street, which is the spot that previously housed Krustaceans Seafood.

If you are not familiar with shawarma, it is a Middle Eastern style for cooking a variety of meats. It usually involves a spinning rotisserie spit, lots of seasoning, and big long knife that is used to shave off fresh pieces of meat that get sandwiched into warm pita bread.

It also is an emerging fast food trend.

Texas-based Shawarma Press is hoping it is one that catches hold in Lawrence. The company has filed a plan to convert the space at the corner of 10th and New Hampshire streets into the company’s first Kansas location. In addition to filing the plans at City Hall, the company also has listed Lawrence as a “coming soon” location on its website.

The chain got its start in 2017 in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas. It has since added about a dozen other locations, primarily in Texas and the Atlanta area, according to its website.

Shawarma wraps that become warm and slightly crispy thinks to a sandwich press appear to be the speciality of the restaurant. The chain’s menu features more than a half dozen different wrap options. They include the traditional — chicken, beef and falafel options, for example — but also include some crossover varieties. On that front, the menu includes a Tex-Mex shawarma that features chicken, bell peppers, onion, and a homemade Tex-Mex sauce. The menu also includes a shawarma melt, that looks a bit like the restaurant’s version of a chicken quesadilla.

But those south-of-the-border offerings appear to be more the exception than the rule. The restaurant’s website touts itself to be the country’s first “authentic shawarma franchise,” and aims to be a top choice for people who want to follow a Mediterranean Diet.

The menu includes several traditional dishes including hummus and pita, spinach and cheese pastries, a Mediterranean salad complete with olives and cucumbers, lentil soup, and several different types of sauces, including tandoori and tahini.

No word on when the restaurant plans to open in Lawrence, but since it is going into an existing restaurant location, it already has most of the necessary approvals to open. The company has filed plans to do some internal remodeling and to put new signage on the building.