The restaurant, owned by brothers and Lansing residents Mohammad and Fathy Shetiah, is the chain’s third location, joining restaurants on Waverly Road and St. Joseph Street and Michigan Avenue, both in Lansing.

The East Lansing Tabooli is located at 515 W. Grand River Avenue in the building previously occupied by GrandRiver Coffee Cafe.

Fathy Shetiah said Tabooli’s build-your-own model is uncommon with Mediterranean cuisine and is appealing to a younger crowd.

“They give you a lot of options," said customer and packaging senior Marc Sorisho. "It’s kind of like a Mediterranean Chipotle.”

Fathy said in a previous article from The State News the delayed opening was out of the brothers’ control because of construction, licensing and city approvals.

“That was probably one of the toughest stores for us to open,” Fathy said.

The Shetiah brothers have their finger in more than one piece of the Michigan business pie.

In addition to their three Tabooli locations, Fathy said the brothers own approximately 25 Biggby Coffee locations throughout Michigan and Toledo, Ohio, as well as 7C Lingo, a “cultural consulting” and translation service that helps corporations seeking to conduct business abroad.

Fathy said students have responded well to the restaurant so far.

“I think there’s a lot of excitement within this location, once the students come in and start learning a bit more about it they fall in love with it,” Fathy said.

East Lansing Tabooli manager Nicholas Florindi said the restaurant’s Mediterranean fare strikes a chord with current trends.

“One of the biggest things going on right now is ... being more green, being more natural, having healthy alternatives, less processing ... those are the things we do best,” Florindi said.

Lansing resident and Tabooli employee Deyeabreon Rider said she enjoys serving the East Lansing crowd.

Rider, 15, said she wants to one day attend MSU.

“My coworkers are really cool people,” Rider said. “It’s just so fun meeting new people, I get to see all these new faces.”

The East Lansing Tabooli might not be the end.

Fathy said he plans to open another Tabooli by next year, although he hasn’t decided on a location.

“We’re hoping to build something that we can grow into a franchising model someday,” Fathy said. “We’re hoping this would (become) something that is born out of Lansing, and maybe become national or international one day.”