Every few years a new diet goes viral--Atkins, Whole 30, paleo--but through it all scientists have repeatedly vowed that the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest. Rich in olive oil, vegetables, fruits, and seafood, with health benefits from yogurt and red wine, two of the five Blue Zones--Sardinia and Icaria--are in this region. We’ve written extensively about CAVA in the past and it is definitely one of the juggernauts in this cuisine in the fast-casual category. However, there are lots of chains with Mediterranean flair also proving to be popular.
Looking at the past six months, we see that many of these Mediterranean chains have seen substantial year-over-year growth. Taziki’s summertime specialities include whipped feta lamb burgers or watermelon spinach salad whereas Luna Grill is offering garlic bonfire shrimp. The Great Greek Mediterranean includes crowd pleasers like the four dip combo that lets you try out melitzanosalata, hummus, tzatziki, and tirokafteri. At The Kebab Shop, you can enjoy wraps, bowls, and plates with innovative dips like cilantro jalapeno, an homage to the chain’s San Diego roots. At Nick the Greek, you can choose from delectable pork or chicken souvlakis and end your meal with delicious loukoumades or baklava. At Spitz, house favorites include their street cart fries, which are topped with garlic aioli, feta, onion, green pepper, tomato, olives, and pepperoncinis. In the mood for a little bit of everything? The Mezeh bowl at Mezeh comes with a mix of chicken shawarma, white rice, mediterranean eggplant, spicy hummus, Lebanese tabbouleh, Turkish yogurt dip, roasted corn salsa, moroccan carrots, sumac cucumbers, and harissa.
There is still a lot of room for growth and competition in the US. While CAVA has a strong presence on the east coast and the South, Nick the Greek has a foothold in Northern California and Luna Grill and The Kebab Shop are abundant in Southern California. Spitz is quite evenly scattered throughout the country.
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