CUISINESCENE
AMYCHRISTIAN
Delicious in Any Language
Planning pays off for the owner of Laziza Mediterranean Grill
Since opening on September 13 in the Publix shopping center, Laziza Mediterranean Grill has been overrun with customers. If there’s one person the overwhelmingly positive response hasn’t surprised, it’s owner Nader Khatib. “I used to work on the base [at Fort Gordon] as a contractor and that’s one thing I always heard: ‘Man, I wish there was an Arabic restaurant here,’” Khatib said. “Because, you know, a lot of the soldiers, they were stationed in the Middle East. They were familiar with the food, they had eaten the food and they liked the food.” Khatib, a six-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force whose wife continues to work as a contractor at Fort Gordon, always had the idea of opening a restaurant simmering in the back of his mind. “This is something I’ve wanted to do for at least six years, but I wasn’t ready six years ago,” he said. “I researched it
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and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s a lot that goes into this.’ And I was new to the area.” So the idea, to bring the Lebanese style of Palestinian food that his mother cooked while he was growing up, sat on the back burner until about a year ago. It was then, after overhearing numerous comments about the need for a restaurant serving Middle Eastern cuisine, that Khatib decided to take the plunge. “I saw a business opportunity in Augusta to fill a gap that needed to be filled,” he said. “I thought there was money to be made, so I just decided to go ahead and do it.” Diving in for Khatib, however, meant a year of meticulous planning: doing research, creating a business plan and even hosting tasting parties at his home, in which guests filled out feedback forms, were all part of the process. He
was in no hurry, though. “I had a good job, so I took my time,” he said. Finding the perfect spot was also a concern, Khatib explained, saying he wanted a place where he could keep it casual. “I didn’t have my heart set on Columbia County; it was more the demographics and the setup,” he said. “Then I found this location, which was perfect. The setup was pretty much what I wanted and it V. 22 | NO. 64