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.
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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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