Passion for natural ingredients drives spice company founder
When owner Paymon Raouf of Las Vegas-based Paymon’s Mediterranean Café &Hookah Lounge ordered a special seasoning blend from a spice company for his french fries, he noticed his employees coughing whenever they used the blend.
“When I read the ingredients, I realized the company used additives to the blend to cut costs,” Raouf said. “I knew I had to do this myself.”
In 2007, Raouf opened the Las Vegas Spice Co. and started making special blends for his friends in the restaurant industry. Although business was booming, things came to a standstill in 2008 during the recession.
However, last year, Raouf moved to two 2,100-square-foot facilities on Rogers Street, which house more than 250 products — everything from your typical chili powder and cinnamon to more exotic offerings such as rose buds and bacon sea salt.
“Since last year, we have people in restaurant industry knocking on our door,” he said. “We make all our blends with sea salt and stay away from chemicals that are bad for your body.”
Each day, Raouf’s five employees do private labeling and create small batches of special blends for 55 restaurants and hotels such as the Stratosphere, Hash House A Go Go, Rollin’ Smoke Barbeque and Metro Pizza.
John Arena, co-owner of Metro Pizza, said he’s been buying spices for pizza, sauces and salad dressings as well as nuts and sesame seeds from the Las Vegas Spice Co. for the past year.
“He’s got the highest quality and the fairest prices,” Arena said of Raouf. “Spices are a major expense for us, and his products are superior to what we were buying with a significant savings.”
Arena added that he prefers dealing with local businesses whenever possible.
“I know that I can call him up at 5 p.m. on a Saturday and say we’re out of something and have him make a special run to our stores,” Arena said. “We wouldn’t get service like that from a big supplier.”
Aside from operating his spice business and two locations of Paymon’s Mediterranean Cafe &Hookah Lounge, one on Maryland Parkway and the other on West Sahara Avenue, Raouf’s passion for chemical-free foods extends to UNLV, where he lectures students in the Culture &Cuisine class in the hospitality department.
“I ask students to raise their hand if they’re a fast reader and then I’ll toss them a Twinkie and say, ‘Read the ingredients as fast as you can,’ and they always stumble,” he said. “Then I’ll ask them what goes into making a cake and they’re astounded when they see what’s in a Twinkie. My motto is, ‘Don’t eat it if you can’t read it.’ ”
In the future, Raouf said he’s about to release a line of sea salts into T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Ross stores, and he’s hoping to develop a special line for cocktails.
“The way I’ve been approached, in the next five years we’ll probably be in a space that’s five times bigger,” he said. “Spice usage is growing more and more each year.”
Since arriving in Las Vegas 27 years ago from Iran, Raouf, who opened his first restaurant in 1988, said he couldn’t be happier with how things turned out.
“Vegas is a wonderful city, and I feel like a Vegas native because if you’ve spent more than 20 years here, you’re a native,” he said with a laugh. “I love that I’ve brought creativity and hospitality together with my businesses and to have been a part of Vegas for as long as I have, it feels good.”
Contact reporter Ann Friedman at 702-380-4588 or afriedman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AnnFriedmanRJ on Twitter.
