Taziki’s Mediterranean Café to Make Its New Orleans Debut

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Fast casual Mediterranean brand is set to open first location in Metairie this summer

May 12, 2023 // Franchising.com // NEW ORLEANS – Taziki’s Mediterranean Café is bringing its fresh, handcrafted Mediterranean fare to the New Orleans area with the grand opening of its first local restaurant this summer.

Located at 701 Metairie Road, in the Old Metairie Village Shopping Center, the new café will be the first Louisiana locations of the popular Birmingham, Alabama-based brand for local franchisees Barre and Cecile Tanguis. The location will be the perfect place for a dine-in lunch or dinner and will also include a to-go area along with outdoor seating.

“We love the community feel of Taziki’s, in addition to the delicious food that makes you feel great,” said Cecile Tanguis. “We understand how valuable the Mediterranean diet is to the public's overall health, so we’re excited to be able to introduce this wonderful, fresh concept to the New Orleans area.”

The Tanguis have been well known in the area for their successful ventures in the hospitality industry for nearly a decade. Barre, a Louisiana native, has gained a national reputation for his transformation of the restaurant operations model with successful culinary projects like St. Roch Market, Politan Row and MIA Market, which he re-developed with Cecile. The acclaimed food hall concepts have outposts in Miami and New Orleans, receiving accolades from Travel+Leisure, The New York Times, Food & Wine and Forbes. MIA Market’s sushi concept was also featured in the Michelin Guide to Miami in 2022.

Barre is currently the CEO of Macromia Group, which he started with Cecile and his cousin, J.D. Hilburn, a Michelin-starred chef, to establish fresher, ingredient-based cuisine restaurants. Cecile and her husband split their time between New Orleans and Miami and continue to open new restaurants in both cities.

A graduate of the University of Alabama, Cecile Tanguis is a New Orleans native who is known for her work as a fashion entrepreneur. She led the rollouts of several successful campaigns for noted brands like Gap and Williams Sonoma before launching her New Orleans-inspired clothing and accessories label, NOLA Couture in 2006. Along with her fashion label, she and her brother, Joe Reiss, launched Louisiana’s first Poke restaurant, Poke Loa, in New Orleans in 2017. It was named Gambit’s Best New Restaurant that same year. Within the next two years, she opened five more locations with Joe, who will manage the day-to-day operations at Taziki’s.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Joe Reiss discovered a passion for fresh food after living in California and experiencing new cuisines. After spending time in sales, he longed to be back in New Orleans, leading to his partnership with Barre and Cecile to open the first Poke Loa on Magazine Street. Since then, the Poke Loa craze has exploded to five other locations across the Gulf Coast and greater New Orleans area.

The Tanguis’ business knowledge combined with their reputation in the area will make their Taziki’s location a hit in the community. Add in the brand’s loyal following with its fresh gyros, sandwiches, soups and salads with a Mediterranean flare, and the ingredients for a successful Gulf Coast expansion are all in place.

“We are thrilled to bring our fast-casual Mediterranean food to the Metairie community and with partners as well-established as Barre and Cecile Tanguis,” said Taziki’s CEO Dan Simpson. “We know Taziki’s will become a favorite for great, fresh food at a reasonable price. Our fans are loyal, so there’s no doubt in my mind all the cafes will flourish under their watch.”

SOURCE Taziki's Mediterranean Café

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