In the past few years, Mediterranean chain Panini Kabob Grill has grown explosively in Southern California. The once-quiet restaurant group now boasts 34 locations across Orange County, Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire, with outposts as far north as Bakersfield and as far south as San Diego.
Now, the Corona Del Mar-founded brand known for its health-focused menu of sandwiches, salads and charbroiled kabob platters, as well as its easily recognizable bucking horse logo, is heading for the big leagues: Just like In-N-Out did decades ago, Panini Kabob Grill is betting big on Las Vegas for its first out-of-California location.
It joins other SoCal restaurants that have made their Vegas debuts in recent years, such as LA pastrami legend the Hat.
The interior of a Panini Kabob Grill in Los Angeles on Oct. 30, 2025. (Jessie Alcheh/SFGATE)
CEO and founder Mike Rafipoor hopes the restaurant, located on the Las Vegas Strip at the Fashion Show mall across from the Wynn hotel and casino, will open in December or January.
“Since Nevada is a neighboring state to California, it’s easier to have infrastructure built,” Rafipoor told SFGATE of the reason to target Las Vegas. “Plus, we’re planning to go public in a few years, and I’ve been told by Goldman Sachs and everyone else that we’ll get a bigger valuation if we open in other states.”
Las Vegas has historically been a proving ground for expanding brands. With a wide reach thanks to global tourism and lots of opportunity for big, flashy branding – plus a growing independent food scene – restaurant businesses looking to grow their profiles usually end up on or near the Strip at some point.
An assortment of dishes from Panini Kabob Grill in Los Angeles on Oct. 30, 2025. (Jessie Alcheh/SFGATE)
The brand has been on an expansion tear the past few years: It opened 10 locations total in 2024 and 2025 – a feat that would be difficult for many other privately held midsize restaurant chains, but Panini Kabob Grill relies on its own in-house construction team to bring new outposts to fruition. The group opened its sixth San Diego restaurant in February; the latest to debut opened on Sept. 9 at the sprawling Hollywood Park mixed-use development near SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
As of 2025, the restaurants served a combined 114,000 charbroiled kabobs a week across all of the outposts, totaling nearly 6 million pieces per year.
Other Panini Kabob Grills in the works include restaurants in Downey, Valencia, Downtown LA and the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles. Rafipoor is also eyeing possible future Northern California outposts in markets like San Mateo and Walnut Creek.
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This article originally published at Beloved SoCal Mediterranean chain Panini Kabob Grill is heading to Las Vegas.
Dining and Cooking