---
title: "QSR Magazine: Why Luna Grill Fresh Mediterranean is One to Watch"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/502bc35f-b4e9-4087-8ae5-046d3c90dd45
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/qsr-magazine-why-luna-grill-fresh-mediterranean-is-one-to-watch-6658
category: "Casual dining"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Casual dining"
published: 2016-10-18T16:11:17.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:35:57.766Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/8bb386b700859962b789ddf8880b6b95559.jpg
---

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

**TL;DR:** Luna Grill Fresh Mediterranean, a 27-unit fast casual restaurant, was created by two parents seeking a healthy fast food option for their kids. The restaurant offers a diverse menu with a focus on freshness, healthiness, and quality ingredients.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-10-18. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/qsr-magazine-why-luna-grill-fresh-mediterranean-is-one-to-watch-6658).*

## Story

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.”

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- QSR Magazine (publication)
- fast casual (topic)
- menu development (topic)
- mediterranean cuisine (topic)
- healthy options (topic)
- Luna Grill (company)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/qsr-magazine-why-luna-grill-fresh-mediterranean-is-one-to-watch-6658). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/502bc35f-b4e9-4087-8ae5-046d3c90dd45).