Chams Lebanese Cuisine is the only Parkersburg restaurant named a destination on the West Virginia Culinary Trail, a program launched by the West Virginia Department of Tourism in November to encourage visitors to eat at Mountain State restaurants. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

PARKERSBURG — A Parkersburg restaurant is part of a new West Virginia program that highlights the world-class dining in the Mountain State.

Chams Lebanese Cuisine at 610 Market Street, has been a Parkersburg staple for almost 18 years. It was opened in 2006 by brother and sister Rizkallah Helou and Chams Ekelman, according to Helou.

Chams is a destination on the West Virginia Culinary Trail and is the only Parkersburg restaurant to be one.

The West Virginia Department of Tourism launched the West Virginia Culinary Trail program in November. The purpose of the program is to highlight must-visit restaurants across West Virginian that have been selected by the first class of West Virginia Chef Ambassadors and to encourage visitors to the Mountain State to visit West Virginia restaurants by highlighting the many world-class and unique dining destinations that are available, according to a media release.

People who participate in the West Virginia Culinary Trail can earn foodie friendly prizes ranging from a West Virginia bottle opener carabiner to a West Virginia Almost Heaven wood try and more, according to the state Department of Tourism’s website.

Chams Lebanese Cuisine in Parkersburg, owned by Chams Ekelman, left, and Rizkallah Helou, right, is part of the West Virginia Culinary Trail program. (File Photo)

“We invite travelers from near and far to put the West Virginia Culinary Trail on their must-do list this winter and beyond,” Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby said. “While you’re tasting the best dishes the Mountain State has to offer, you might as well enjoy a side of adventure too. Plan a foodie road trip and stay a while in Almost Heaven.”

Rizkallah Helou and his sister Chams Ekelman were born and raised in Lebanon. They came to visit their aunts and cousins in Parkersburg in 1983 because their aunt was worried about them during a civil war in Lebanon, Helou said.

After six months of visiting, they returned to Lebanon. Due to the civil war, they became refugees and returned to the United States in 1987.

Helou and his sister worked hard over the years and in 2006 opened Chams, named for Chams Ekelman, Helou said.

Helou said he and his sister like to cook because of the way they were raised.

“We grew up in an open house. Everybody came to eat and go,” Helou said. “My mother was always in the kitchen and we were, me and my brothers and sister. (We would) bring our friend and eat and go. That’s why we like to cook and feed people.”

The staff at Chams comes in every day around 7 a.m. to prepare fresh food for customers. The restaurant employs eight people and most are members of the family, Helou said.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. It serves homemade Lebanese food. Everything is made at the restaurant, except the bread, Helou said.

Chams also serves desserts like baklava and sells items like Lebanese olive oil and olive oil soap, according to Helou.

Chams’ customers are from the Mid-Ohio Valley, but people also come from all over to eat at the restaurant.

“Some people, they drive three hours, like from Pittsburgh, just to eat food here,” Helou said.

When Chams opened on the first day, things got off to a rough start, according to Helou.

“(In the) first 15 minutes the grill broke down, the microwave broke down and people were packed. We started cooking in the pan. One guy waited an hour and a half for his order and he kept coming every day,” Helou said.

Now, Chams is a well-known restaurant after all their hard work over the years, according to Helou.

Restaurants are named destinations on the West Virginia Culinary Trail by West Virginia Chef Ambassadors, according to the West Virginia Department of Tourism website.

The Chef Ambassadors are part of a program Gov. Jim Justice started in July 2021 and is a program that showcases Mountain State chefs to promote West Virginia’s culinary innovation, farm-to-table experience and the agritourism industry, according to the governor.

As Chef Ambassadors are added, the stops on the culinary trail will be updated to include their selections, according to the release.

To learn more about Chams and see the restaurant’s menu, go to https://chams.food-24h.com/

To sign up for the West Virginia Culinary Trail program and learn more about it go to https://wvtourism.com/culinary-trail/.

Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@newsandsentinel.com