EMERGING BRANDS
RICE MEDITERRANEAN KITCHEN BRINGS PERSIAN FLAVORS TO THE TABLE This Iranian-American family has been slowly building a fast-casual Mediterranean brand with a Persian twist. It couldn’t be more relevant.
BY LISA JENNINGS LISA. JENNINGS@INFORMA.COM
PHOTO COURTESY OF RICE MEDITERRANEAN KITCHEN
T hirty years ago, when Jafar Shabani moved to Miami, there wasn’t much in the way of Mediterranean food— and especially not Persian cuisine. But that’s the way Shabani and his family wanted to eat. So he and his brother set out to create a restaurant that represented the fresh ingredients, grilled proteins, herbs and spices, and rice that they grew up with as Iranian-Americans. So Rice Mediterranean Kitchen was born. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, Rice Kitchen, as it is known, recently opened
its 10th location in South Florida. The latest unit is in Coconut Grove. Over two decades, the fast-casual concept has evolved. And so has the American understanding of Mediterranean cuisine. Restaurant chains that call themselves “Mediterranean” tend to borrow a mishmash of flavors from across the Middle East, including Greece, Israel, Lebanon or Turkey. Mediterranean cuisine has also been embraced as healthful. This has benefited the Greek-inspired Cava, now with 439 units, which has become a category leader with
only distant competitors. The 50-unit Luna Grill has Persian roots, but the menu there has also evolved to become more broadly Mediterranean. But Shabani, who is now CEO, sees a lot of white space for a more Iranian-inflected version of Mediterranean fast casual. He wanted to make Rice Mediterranean Kitchen’s Persian influence clear. War has brought a surge in interest in the views of the Iranian-American community.
CONTINUE ON PG 25
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RESTAURANT BUSINESS APRIL 2026
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