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Charlotte restaurateur Frank Scibelli planning full-service version of Yafo Kitchen

CHARLOTTE — Frank Scibelli, a veteran restaurateur in Charlotte, has plans to grow the Yafo Kitchen brand with a new full-service concept.

Yafo, a fast-casual brand focused on chef-inspired Mediterranean fare, opened in SouthPark in 2016, followed by two more locations in Dilworth and Plaza Midwood. Scibelli told the Charlotte Business Journal that creating a full-service restaurant based around the food that inspired Yafo is something he and executive chef Shai Fargain have been planning for some time.

Scibelli said it wasn’t until he met up with Fargain in Tel Aviv, Israel, during a recent family trip that the concept really took hold. The pair had dinner at a restaurant that Fargain had recommended, and Scibelli said it was a lightbulb moment.

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