Dive Brief:
- Taim Mediterranean Kitchen, a 14-unit fast casual concept owned by Craveworthy Brands, is launching a franchising program in a bid to capitalize on the explosive growth of the Mediterranean fast casual sector, according to a Wednesday press release.
- While Taim is a relatively small competitor in the sector, franchising could speed up its geographical expansion by allowing it to tap into operator sources of capital.
- The brand’s initial franchising focus will be on markets in Washington, D.C., Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. These are all places where Cava has a significant brand presence, making this push a direct confrontation with the market leader.
Dive Insight:
While franchising is the dominant business strategy in QSR, the fast casual sector is typically led by company-operated models, with Chipotle and Cava being the most notable success. Given Cava’s dominance and the significant growth potential in Mediterranean cuisine — Craveworthy cited Technomic data showing a 10.2% year-over-year increase in consumer demand as of Q1 2025 — Taim could ultimately see strong franchisee interest.
“There's clear untapped franchise potential in this space,” Gregg Majewski, Craveworthy’s founder and CEO, said in the press release. “There’s still massive opportunity for a concept like Taim.”
Taim says its menu, which offers a wide-range of options including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal dishes, is the key to its brand potential. The company highlighted recent menu additions like Beef and Lamb Shawarma, Baharat-Spiced Pita Chips and Roasted Mushrooms as examples of ongoing menu innovation.
But Taim is not the first chain to use franchising in the segment: Taziki’s Mediterranean Kitchen, the second-largest brand in Mediterranean fast casual, has offered franchising since 2013, according to its website. Taziki’s franchisee base actually peaked in 2019/2020, at 75 stores, shrinking to 59 in 2022 and rebounding to more than 61 since then. But Craveworthy’s multi-brand platform could be an asset both in recruiting franchisees and in helping them succeed.
In the Mexican fast casual segment, franchising has proven the weapon of choice for brands chasing company-owned Chipotle. But while Qdoba has managed to set up a 500-unit development pipeline, and Cilantro Taco Grill has set up a 100-store growth plan, Chipotle remains far and away the segment leader with 3,697 domestic locations, according to its latest 10-Q.
And merely being in a popular segment is not enough to guarantee success, as Roti found out last year when the Mediterranean fast casual chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections after rent deferral agreements expired.
None of this precludes Taim from establishing a successful franchising program, or growing significantly. But its choice of early growth markets are nearly all Cava strongholds — Cava has more stores in Maryland than Taim has in its whole system — which means the brand will face significant competition from one of the fastest growing fast casual chains in the whole restaurant industry.
