It’s been one month since the Mediterranean spot, Taim, opened up in College Park. “Taim,” translating to “tasty,” has captivated students. The CEO of Taim and Unamed Brands Phil Petrilli said, “The dining room was full on that first day.”
For years, the university’s Mediterranean spot was Cava, a similar restaurant to Taim. But Petrilli highlighted the qualities and strengths that makes Taim stand out.
“It’s such an easy thing for restaurants to say that our food is better than anybody else’s. Within our category, and certainly within fast-casual [food], we make every single recipe and everything from scratch. And these are really complex recipes.”
General Manager of Taim College Park Edgar Moreno said, “ We are getting more and more [customers].”
University of Maryland sophomore Anabel Saba said, “There’s a clear difference between Cava and Taim. While both delicious, Taim really has authentic food made with great attention to detail.”’
For a Women’s History Month shoutout, Petrilli also wanted to express gratitude toward his female staff members.
“Our chief operating officer who is responsible for essentially bringing all of this to life inside the restaurant is Bethany Strong. An amazing woman, amazing leader and amazing restaurant operator, she’s been with us for a long time. Probably 70% of our general managers are women” Petrilli said.
Taim began getting involved in the college community, too. The restaurant has done catering service for the university, donations, and sponsorships with greek life on campus, Petrilli said.
Taim created their own local twist for their first Maryland location. The restaurant is now selling Old Bay fries with their assortment of sauces.
Petrilli said instead of free pita deals for National Pita Day on March 29, they switched around their menu prices for an extra treat in orders.
“We recently just added a free pita to any bowl,” Petrilli said. “You used to pay $1.50 and now for free.”
Taim also just hired a new head chef.
“We just brought on a new head chef, Avi. He’s worked for some of the best kitchens in the world,” Petrilli said.
Petrilli also mentioned some special menu surprises for the Spring season.
“You can expect something later this spring will be every bit as good as everything,” Petrilli said.
Spoon asked Petrilli if there were any store hour changes due to Ramadan beginning on March 22. He said, “While we’re incredibly grateful to represent that part of the world, we know that we’re feeding a really diverse community- so we want to make sure that there’s consistency in those hours. We don’t alter things for Passover or anything like that, [too].”
Petrilli also mentioned how he is successfully attracting the surrounding communities to Taim, too. He also said he is actively opening more locations.
“Hyattsville is such a great community [for example]. Young people, lots of young families, not a lot of food options. We’re a perfect fit for that audience.” He continued, “We’re [also] hunting some additional locations in Maryland.”
Saba said, “Everyone should try Taim to get a glimpse of what we’re missing. This takes the meaning of home cooked meals made with care to an entirely new level.”