Three men from North Africa are gearing up to open a new Mediterranean restaurant in Warner Robins.
Rachid Boumashoul, Achraf Soyfi and Rachid Hafidi, all U.S. citizens, aim to share their passion for Mediterranean cuisine made with organic, natural ingredients.
Their restaurant, Tasty & Yummy Mediterranean Grill, is now expected to open in the next one to two weeks in the former Sabor Latino Venezuelan Restaurant location off Watson Boulevard.
Sabor Latino closed in late July after only having been open just over a year.
When the three men heard that the Venezuelan restaurant owners were looking for someone to take over their lease, they decided they wanted to try their hand at a restaurant.
“All of us are from Moroccan descent, and we have a long standing tradition for the love of food and hospitality and sharing,” Rachid Boumashoul said. “So these three like components, they’ve been part of, you know, our fabric …
“Why not do a restaurant of our own and share these values, these vibes with the public and the American food lovers in the South?”
Their grand opening initially scheduled for Thursday was postponed due to an unexpected delay in the issuance of their business license.
Once they have a new grand opening date, they expect to post it on the Tasty & Yummy Mediterranean Grill Facebook page. They expect to offer discount pricing at the grand opening, and a military discount daily.
Tasty & Yummy Mediterranean Grill logo on the front of the menu.
What’s on the menu?
For the most part, the menu, which is a work in progress, includes mainstay dishes one would expect at a Mediterranean restaurant.
“We’ll have our eyes and ears open,” Boumashoul said. “Whatever the customer wants, we keep it. If something is not desirable, we just take it out. We’re open to change.”
Appetizers include hummus and baba ghanoush dips, Greek french fried potatoes, and dolmas, which are stuffed grape leaves.
Traditional fattoush, tabbouleh, cucumber and Greek salads are all on the menu.
Meat entrees include platters of chicken shawarma, kufta kebab, gyro, steak kebab, and a combination plate.
Vegetarian entrees include falafel and grilled vegetables platters, as well as a mezza platter of hummus, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, Greek salad and two crispy falafel.
Other entrees include grilled salmon and grilled shrimp platters.
Pita wrap choices include chicken kebab, steak kebab, falafel, grilled shrimp, gyro, chicken shawarma, kufta kebab, grilled veggie and salmon.
There’s also a lentil soup.
Side items include basmati rice, assorted pickles, pita bread, tzatziki sauce and pita bread, kalamata olives, and feta cheese.
Other sides include a kufta kebab, beef kebab, shrimp kebab, chicken kebab, chicken shawarma, and three falafel.
Desserts offered are key lime pie and cake.
Unexpected offerings for a Mediterranean restaurant
Unique to the Tasty & Yummy Mediterranean Grill menu are a host of fried chicken and chicken wings offerings, including dinner plates of tenders, breasts, nuggets, and wings and legs. All are served with french fries.
Wings and legs also can be ordered in quantities of 20, 30, 40, 50, 75 and 100.
Buffalo or barbecue wings can be ordered in quantities of six, 10, 20, 50 and 100. Flavors include hot, mild, lemon pepper and barbecue.
The grand opening for Tasty & Yummy Mediterranean Grill, a new restaurant in Warner Robins, has been pushed back due to an unexpected delay in the in issuance of the business license, owners said. The new grand opening date is expected to be announced on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
In the works
In the future, Soyfi said they’re looking at adding brunch and breakfast options.
Down the road, they may also open the drive-thru window, Boumashoul said.
The men also plan to add their own signage and remove the large Sabor Latino sign and the American Wings & Mo!! entrance signs left behind by the restaurant before Sabor Latino.
Soyfi said they’d also like to add patio seating.
Once they’ve got their business license in hand, the men expect to open just as they are with their current menu and build on that. They’ll start with dine-in and takeout. The small restaurant can seat up to 28 people.
Tasty & Yummy Mediterranean Grill at 1996 Watson Blvd. is between Khan Mongolian Grill and MeAkan Japanese Sushi & Steakhouse.
Hours are expected to be 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The number is 478-236-2155.
Dining and Cooking