Lenexa, KS — Copaken Brooks is excited to announce that the first phase of Restaurant Row in Lenexa has reached 100% occupancy. The latest addition to the development, Zhoug Mediterranean, will open in the final 3,000-square-foot space next to Tupelo Honey in Fall 2024.

Zhoug is a fast casual restaurant that serves fresh, authentic, healthy and convenient Mediterranean foods. With humble beginnings as a local pocket restaurant in a Lawrence, Kansas gas station called “The Fresh Mediterranean Company,” the founder carved out and grew this concept from his own passion for Mediterranean cuisine and his travels to source Zhoug’s menu ingredients. He wanted to make sure that Zhoug was convenient and accessible to locals and neighboring communities and that customers could count on the menu being fresh, healthy and delicious.

The Fresh Mediterranean Company gained notoriety quickly when customers began leaving reviews of the “life-changing” falafels, tender & juicy shawarma, craveable aromatic long grain rice, and its variety of zesty made-from-scratch sauces — especially its signature Zhoug sauce. This hidden gem is ranked #9 out of 450 restaurants in Lawrence by Restaurant Gurus, and customers are known to travel across state lines to enjoy the flavors and taste of the restaurant.

Zhoug Mediterranean is opening locations in the KC metroplex with its first location slated to open Summer 2024 on 39th St, at the former D’Bronx location, and another at Restaurant Row in Lenexa City Center.

“The Fresh Mediterranean Co. has introduced thousands of people to fresh Mediterranean favorites in Lawrence, and we are excited to bring that culture to the larger Kansas City community as we expand into the metro,” said Steven Jacobs, CFO of Ethnic Food Concepts which owns Zhoug. “Restaurant Row is the perfect match for us to open a new Zhoug location in a brand new, made-for-us space within Lenexa’s ever-growing City Center.”

Zhoug Mediterranean joins Enjoy Pure Food + Drink, Cactus Grill TexMex & Tequila and Tupelo Honey in the highly-anticipated development in Lenexa City Center.

Erin Johnston, SVP of Retail Brokerage at Copaken Brooks, represented Restaurant Row in the deal. Zhoug was represented by John Nolan and Charlie Lowe of Crossroads Real Estate Group.

“Restaurant Row is the next premiere restaurant destination in Lenexa and reaching 100% occupancy months before completion is a testament to the demand in the rapidly growing area,” Johnston said. “Zhoug is the perfect addition to the area, introducing Mediterranean food to the already diverse culinary options in City Center for the more than 165,000 people within just a few miles of the development every day.”

Phase 1 of Restaurant Row sits at a prime location in Lenexa City Center, just steps away from  the Lenexa Public Market, other local restaurants and businesses, multi-family housing, hotels, Lenexa City Hall, Johnson County Public Library, Lenexa Rec Center, and Park University.

Copaken Brooks continues to lease Phase II of the Development with office space for lease represented by John Coe and Molly Crawford Munninghoff as well as additional retail represented by Erin Johnston.

About Copaken Brooks

Copaken Brooks is a full-service commercial real estate firm headquartered in Kansas City and serving the Midwest. For over 100 years, the company has maintained a national client base with a full suite of services including investment acquisition and sales, tenant representation and HQ relocations, property management, asset management, development, owner’s representation and leasing (office, retail, medical, industrial and underground). Learn more at copaken-brooks.com.