Daphne's Mediterranean has closed all of its restaurants in Texas, including the fast-casual shops on Walnut Hill Lane in Dallas' Preston Hollow Village and on Belt Line Road near Interstate 635 in Irving.
The 11 restaurants' sales performance was "not up to our expectations," says David Eldredge, director of marketing, in a statement.
A sign on the door at Preston Hollow Village says Daphne's was in default of its lease and that the locks were changed.
Daphne's Mediterranean restaurants were a rebranding of a company called Noon Mediterranean — which was formerly Verts, and formerly VertsKebap. All four brands sold Mediterranean food in a fast-casual setting.
Daphne's is owned by Elite Restaurant Group, which also operates Slater's 50/50 and Patxi's Pizza. Elite Restaurant Group purchased Noon Mediterranean in fall 2018, according to Restaurant Business, after the company filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2018. RB says Elite Restaurant Group paid under $800,000 for a "struggling" Noon.
The most recent name change, from Noon to Daphne's, happened about five months ago in the Dallas area.
Representatives for the company chose not to comment further on the closure of the 11 Texas restaurants. A spokeswoman says next steps for the 11 locations are undetermined. The statement reads:
"While we are very proud of our ability to offer customers in Texas a fun, fresh, and delicious Mediterranean dining experience, we decided that the sales performance of these locations, which were operated by Noon Enterprise LTD, were not up to our expectations. As a result, we decided to close these locations, but are actively pursuing options to grow our business in Texas with Daphne's national development plans in the near future."
Daphne's Mediterranean shops were located at 7949 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, and 8449 North Belt Line Road, Irving.
