New Mediterranean restaurant opens on Colonel Glenn Highway

Yaffa Grill opened on Colonel Glenn Highway three weeks ago, serving up Mediterranean food from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

The restaurant offers kebabs, shawerma, falafel and a variety of other Mediterranean dishes. However, the restaurant's origins are in Palestine, which gives the food a distinct flavor according to Yaffa Grill's owner, Iyad Moreb.

Moreb described Mediterranean food as healthier alternative to the typical grub you find in American restaurants. According to Moreb, Yaffa Grill uses fresh, unprocessed foods that contain little fat. Moreb also said he believes Mediterranean food has more variety than American cuisine.

“There’s a lot to choose from other than hamburgers and hot dogs,” said Moreb. “It has a different texture than the food you see outside.”

Moreb said he opened Yaffa Grill on Colonel Glenn Highway because it was in close proximity to Wright State University and the international students studying abroad there, as well as Wright Patterson Air Force Base, with employees that have been overseas and brought back a taste for foreign cuisine.

Kayla Anderson, waitress at Yaffa Grill, loves the food and notices that the customers do as well.

“Usually every single person I get here says that they’re going to come back," said Anderson. "[They say] they’ll be back this week."