After staffing struggles, Saffron Skies in Bartlesville settles into regular hours
Kimberly van Veen | The Wiley Post
Oct 20, 2026
If you've been frustrated that the new Saffron Skies Mediterranean Grill in Bartlesville hasn't been open, owner Omar Alghawarien is too.
In the two and a half months since he opened, he's struggled to hire and retain staff. The restaurant has closed suddenly or not been open during the past 10 weeks, all due to not having enough staff.
People don't want to work hard, manager Jarred Heskett said. “It's physically demanding and hours can be quite long.”
Alghawarien and Heskett traded stories about the employees who lasted only days or — in some cases — hours. One guy asked if he could step outside to vape—and never came back.
But Saffron Skies is finally at the point where it has enough trained staff to stay open every day (except Sunday) from 11-8.
Alghawarien, originally from Jordan, has long dreamed of operating a Middle Eastern restaurant. He is a civil engineer who loves to cook and has worked at restaurants around Tulsa. But he always wanted to run his own restaurant the way he felt it should be.
A friend encouraged him to try Bartlesville, where there was nothing close to Middle Eastern food available. He said the process of finding a space was simple and that the city was easy to work with. He spent a lot of time renovating the restaurant and kitchen, even planning electrical components for future equipment — like a bread oven.
Alghawarien co-owns the store with a friend from Tunisia, but the recipe development is all Alghawarien. He has hundreds of pages of recipes and notes he developed, making adjustments until the flavors were flawless.
“When people like my food, I feel like I'm flying,” Alghawarien said.
The restaurant has high standards for everything from sanitation to food preparation to presentation, which is one reason it has been hard to find and keep employees.
He is at the store from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. almost every day, making sure everything is perfect. The spices are imported from Jordan, keeping the flavors both authentic and fresh. Instead of depending on a food purveyor, he picks out everything himself.
“I make everything with love — I take care with everything," Alghawarien said.
He met Heskett, who has a fine-dining background, during the hiring process. Heskett grew up in Bartlesville and returned to the city to raise his daughter. Now, the two men are as close as brothers. Over the past months, they've learned a lot about running a restaurant.
Though the start was rocky, things are better now. The team is faster at getting food out of the kitchen. They found committed staff, though "We are hiring" signs are prominent at the entrance and the cash register.
“We get better every week,” Heskett said.
This reporter's children would agree. They fought over the chicken shawarma wrap Alghawarien sent home. They devoured it in alternating bites, standing at the kitchen island, sauce dripping down their elbows.
Saffron Skies Mediterranean Grill is located at 2517 SE Washington Blvd, Bartlesville, OK 74006.
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