{"id":408464,"date":"2026-01-15T09:23:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T09:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/408464\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T09:23:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T09:23:34","slug":"first-kosher-and-halal-certified-restaurant-at-iu-hosts-grand-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/408464\/","title":{"rendered":"First kosher and halal certified restaurant at IU hosts grand opening"},"content":{"rendered":"

The aroma of\u00a0Mediterranean\u00a0food\u00a0filled\u00a0the\u00a0air Tuesday\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0IU\u00a0Kelley School of Business Godfrey\u00a0Graduate and Executive Education\u00a0Center.\u00a0A\u00a0long\u00a0line\u00a0of students\u00a0led\u00a0into\u00a0the\u00a0hallway\u00a0at\u00a0Yalla Bloomington, the first kosher and halal certified restaurant\u00a0of its kind\u00a0on Bloomington\u2019s campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yalla hosted its grand opening Tuesday morning\u00a0with IU President Pamela Whitten delivering remarks and\u00a0participating\u00a0in a ribbon cutting ceremony. The restaurant\u00a0offered\u00a0all\u00a0attendees\u00a0free food and merchandise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0celebration marked a\u00a0milestone\u00a0for\u00a0Jewish and\u00a0Muslim\u00a0students who have religious dietary restrictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to\u00a0Friday,\u00a0Yalla<\/a>\u00a0offers shawarma, falafel, grilled\u00a0chicken\u00a0and kebabs.\u00a0The\u00a0restaurants\u00a0co-owner,\u00a0Berel\u00a0Shur, describes\u00a0their\u00a0food as a take on Cava or Chipotle, featuring Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Being\u00a0halal certified<\/a>,\u00a0the restaurant adheres\u00a0to Islamic dietary laws\u00a0on allowed\u00a0foods and preparation methods, such as prohibitions on pork and alcohol and requirements for specific animal slaughter practices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u00a0is also kosher certified, following Jewish dietary laws\u00a0that prohibit foods like pork and shellfish, requires meat and dairy to be kept separate and mandates specific preparation methods for allowed foods among other rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n

IU senior\u00a0Joshua Huss\u00a0is strictly\u00a0kosher.\u00a0Before\u00a0Yalla, Huss had trouble finding a dining\u00a0option\u00a0that\u00a0fit\u00a0his\u00a0dietary needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past four years that I\u2019ve been here, we haven\u2019t had any kosher-like dining\u00a0option\u00a0at all,\u201d Huss said.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0a huge\u00a0deal for me\u00a0because at the IU dining halls, I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0eat any protein.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new sweet shop La Dulce Chocolate\u00a0opened<\/a>\u00a0in Bloomington\u00a0on\u00a0Aug. 22 at the corner of Kirkwood Avenue and South Indiana Avenue, at the former site of Mr. Tokyo. La Dulce Chocolate sells the TikTok-viral Dubai chocolate strawberry cups \u2014 made of chocolate, pistachio cream and a toasted, shredded phyllo dough called kataifi \u2014 as well as cheesecake, waffles and chocolate bars.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rabbi Levi Cunin, director of the Chabad Jewish Student Center\u00a0at IU, first pitched the idea to\u00a0Whitten and IU Dining several years ago. The restaurant had a soft launch in\u00a0August\u00a02025<\/a>\u00a0and feeds over 300 people daily, often selling out before closing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving this\u00a0option\u00a0allows students to be able to focus on their college experience, on their studies, on their classes, on their social life\u00a0and not have to worry about cooking their own food\u00a0or their parents shipping the food,\u201d Cunin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cunin partnered with\u00a0head chef Shur to\u00a0co-found\u00a0the restaurant.\u00a0Development on the menu\u00a0began\u00a0June 1, and by mid-August, the restaurant was approved for a menu,\u00a0space\u00a0and kitchen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an interview with the Indiana Daily Student,\u00a0Whitten emphasized the importance of creating an inclusive campus environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want students that come to IU to have the opportunity to live and learn and study in an environment that\u2019s comfortable and\u00a0inviting to\u00a0them,\u201d Whitten said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maintaining\u00a0kosher and\u00a0halal\u00a0certification\u00a0requires extensive\u00a0work,\u00a0Shur\u00a0said. All food,\u00a0except produce,\u00a0must be kosher\u00a0certified.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shur,\u00a0who serves as\u00a0a\u00a0mashgiach, a\u00a0religious\u00a0supervisor\u00a0to ensure\u00a0food\u00a0complies with\u00a0Jewish dietary laws, must be present when food is\u00a0cooked.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The restaurant sources kosher protein from Chicago, requiring deliveries twice a month from suppliers. IU provides\u00a0the necessary freezers and refrigerators for storage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey set us up for\u00a0success\u00a0and they gave their time to make it happen,\u201d Cunin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0restaurant\u00a0represents\u00a0a personal legacy for Cunin.\u00a0He said his\u00a0great-grandmother\u00a0opened one of the first kosher restaurants in\u00a0New York in the early 1900s\u00a0called Ratner\u2019s.\u00a0Now, more than a\u00a0century\u00a0later,\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0brought\u00a0the same tradition of kosher dining to Indiana students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whitten\u00a0said\u00a0she plans to return regularly and encourages students across campus to visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFood is part of everyone\u2019s life,\u201d Whitten said. \u201cThis is\u00a0a great opportunity\u00a0for our Jewish students, our Muslim students, that have a\u00a0place\u00a0to come have wonderful food.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Cava.<\/p>\n