QSR Magazine: Why Luna Grill Fresh Mediterranean is One to Watch

Two parents were on the hunt for a healthy fast food option to feed their kids when they decided to create their own. According to a recent QSR Magazine article, the couple’s then-4-year-old daughter sparked the idea of Luna Grill, a now 27-unit fast casual Mediterranean restaurant.

The concept has a diverse menu complete with salads, wraps, and plates. Proteins include the standard chicken, steak, and veggies, along with the more unique offerings of gyros, mahi-mahi, salmon, lamb and Cornish hen. That wide variety of options also extends to their sides that include a house salad, grilled tomatoes, carrots, Basmati rice, pita bread, and a cucumber-yogurt dip.

Freshness, healthiness, and quality ingredients were the main factors when developing the menu for Luna Grill. Cofounder Maria Trakas Pourteymour spent time growing up in her family’s Greek restaurant and husband Sean Pourteymour’s Iranian heritage combined to create a fusion of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors that customers love. The fact that the Mediterranean diet was being noticed for a being healthy only added to the brand’s quick success.

“We looked around and saw that people liked Mexican, Italian, and Chinese cuisine, and fast casual had snapped them up,” says Sean Pourteymour, Luna Grill CEO. “At the time, there was not a well-organized, fast-casual Mediterranean option, just mom-and-pop places.”