Nation’s Restaurant News’ Breakout Brands report, now in its sixth year, showcases emerging restaurant chains ready to go to the next level. Meet all of this year’s brands >>
Firing its meats slowly and its growth even slower, San Francisco chain Souvla offers the best of many worlds, with Cali-fresh veggies, Greek wines and frozen yogurt in NYC coffee cups.
When Charles Bililies and Tony Cervone opened the first Souvla in San Francisco, in 2014, they essentially defined the city’s fine-fast scene from a hyper-designed space with thoughtful food presentation and an impressive Greek wine list, all co-existing with an order-at-the counter setup.
Wraps and salads are stuffed with spit-fired meats, definitely Greek in origin, but the overall effect of the plates is eye-catching in a California way: neon pickled onions, verdant greens, pea shoots and creamy yogurt spiked with lemon, garlic or harissa.
Souvla has opened one new location per year since 2014, all in San Francisco. Bililies, founder and CEO, described growth as “incredibly thoughtful … it has allowed us to focus on our growing team and the success of each new restaurant.”
Souvla will open a fourth San Francisco location in mid 2018, in the Marina, an answer to many Souvla fans’ prayers.
“Our most requested neighborhood for a Souvla has always been the Marina,” Bililies said. “We’ve been searching for the right space on the perfect block of the Marina for a few years, and we finally found our newest home.”
While Souvla is ultimately considering growth beyond San Francisco, right now Bililies is focused on ensuring that the here and now is smooth.
Contact Tara Fitzpatrick at [email protected]
Follow her on Twitter: @Tara_Fitzie