MOUNT PLEASANT — A fast-casual Greek dining concept is returning to the Charleston region.
Taziki’s Mediterranean Café, a Birmingham, Ala.-based franchise serving made-to-order dishes, is set to open in early summer at in the REI-anchored Indigo Square shopping center in Mount Pleasant along Highway 17.
The 1,688-square-foot café will feature a large community table, outdoor patio seating and pickup shelves for to-go orders. Around two dozen employees will be hired for the new location. Stephen Sommers is the operating partner.
The restaurant will be the third time that Taziki’s has a Charleston presence.
The chain’s first location in South Carolina at 306 King St. operated for eight years from 2011 to 2019, closing after its building was among several properties sold as part of a $24.5 million real estate deal.
Franchisees then opened a second Taziki’s in Mount Pleasant at 320 W. Coleman Blvd. in 2014, taking over the space that housed longtime restaurant Locklear’s, which moved out of the location because of rising rent costs. Taziki’s had an eight-year run before closing for good in November 2022.
Nationwide, the chain has grown to more than 100 restaurants in 18 states over the past 27 years.
The new East Cooper location will be the company’s fourth in South Carolina. The other restaurants are in Greenville, Columbia and Simpsonville.