Business View Magazine | November 2019

81 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2019 TAZIKI’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFÉ The rewards are plentiful T aziki’s Mediterranean Café is a fast-casual chain of franchised restaurants based in Birmingham, Alabama that purveys Mediterranean cuisine such as gyros, sandwiches, soups, and salads. The restaurant’s concept was devised by founders Keith and Amy Richards after a 1997 vacation in Greece. They opened their first restaurant in 1998, and by 2014, the chain had locations in nine U.S. states; by 2017, there were over 80 Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafés across 16 states. Today, as Taziki’s Mediterranean Café begins its 21st year of operation, the company has 94 units in 17 states, with the latest being a few of the newest locations in Indianapolis, Indiana; Powell (Knoxville), TN; Cleveland, TN; and Kenwood (Cincinnati), OH. As the brand was getting ready to celebrate its 20th year, Richards was deciding what he wanted to maintain from its first two decades, and what changes he wanted to see in the future. So, he hired a new company CEO, Dan Simpson, who had been a franchisee and then AT A GLANCE TAZIKI’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFÉ WHAT: A fast casual restaurant featuring Greek and Mediterranean fare WHERE: Birmingham, Alabama WEBSITE: www.tazikiscafe.com