A franchise called The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill is moving into Texas, first in The Colony and then in Frisco.
The restaurant chain sells Greek food like hummus, spanakopita, beef and lamb pitas, falafel pitas, chicken souvlaki and more.
Many menu items line up with the popular Mediterranean diet, which calls for replacing butter with olive oil; eating whole grains and vegetables; and adding an emphasis on fish and poultry over red meat, according to the Mayo Clinic. It makes sense, then, that fast-casual Mediterranean restaurants are popping up like mad in Dallas-Fort Worth. Many of these brands are "intensifying and even consolidating," says Restaurant Dive. There's Zoe's Kitchen, a Plano company recently purchased by CAVA (which is another Mediterranean brand that's in Austin but not yet Dallas); Luna Grill, with eight restaurants in D-FW; and Daphne's Mediterranean — formerly Noon Mediterranean, which was formerly Verts which was formerly VertsKebap.
Mamoun's Falafel has some similar menu items to The Great Greek and the other restaurants on this list, too, but the company didn't last in Dallas.
Apart from out-of-state chains, D-FW is home to several Texas-born Greek restaurants, like Ziziki's Restaurant, Dimassi's Mediterranean Buffet, Cafe Izmir, Kostas Cafe and more.
Under The Great Greek's current ownership, it is growing from its home of Nevada to seven locations across the United States. The goal is to sell more than 40 new franchise locations this year, according to a spokeswoman.
The local franchisees are Heather and Derrick Udy, of The Colony.
"My father is a retired veteran who was stationed in Germany while I was young. While there, my parents visited Greece and fell in love with the food and culture," Derrick Udy says in a statement. "They instilled a love for Greek food and culture on me, which is why we chose to open the restaurant."
The first Great Greek in Texas, open as of March 6, is located near Nebraska Furniture Mart, at 3750 Plano Parkway, The Colony. The second, expected to open in August, will be located at 1654 FM 423, Frisco.
Look inside:
