Daphne’s Mediterranean Plans Rebrand Following Competitor Acquisition

Daphne’s (formerly Daphne’s California Greek) took over Noon Mediterranean after Noon filed for bankruptcy in August of 2018. The chain went under a massive reorganization, closing seven restaurants and laying off 89 employees. Now Daphne’s parent company, Elite Restaurant Group, is looking to revitalize and modernize the merged locations.

David Eldredge, Elite’s Director of Marketing said to QSR Magazine of the acquisition, “our modus operandi is we identify concepts that have what I like to call really good bones, they have a really good product or they have a really good offering and concept, but have struggled due to mismanagement.” Eldredge claims that’s what led them to Daphne’s and Noon Mediterranean.

Rather than simply turning all of the former Noon locations into Daphne’s, Elite is looking to see what works from each restaurant and incorporating it into a comprehensive rebrand. Elite hopes to showcase the best items from each concept, eliminate redundancies and offer a more diverse selection of Mediterranean cuisine. “We're focusing on recipes from all over the Middle East—everything from Armenian to Lebanese to Greek—to give an actual Mediterranean take on casual dining compared to just being a Greek restaurant,” said Elderidge.