A fast-growing Mediterranean chain has planted its flag in Maryland for the first time, with the Great Greek Mediterranean Grill opening an 1,800-square-foot restaurant at 1830 York Road, Suite A, in Timonium. The shop serves gyros, customizable rice bowls, salads, pita wraps and family feasts in northern Baltimore County, with hours running 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
The franchise is owned locally by Muhammad Sohail, described as a restaurateur and multibrand franchise proprietor who has lived in the United States for 17 years, according to the Maryland Daily Record. Sohail said he is thrilled to bring the Great Greek Mediterranean Grill to Timonium, per the same report. The new location offers dine-in, takeout and catering for corporate events, community gatherings and family celebrations.
What's on the Menu
Diners can expect gyro meat and salmon among the protein choices, alongside bowls, pitas and family-style feasts, the Daily Record reports. Customer favorites at the chain reportedly include feta fries, house-made dips, baklava ice cream and rice pudding. The brand, based in West Palm Beach, Florida, says every dish is made fresh in-house from authentic recipes passed down generation after generation, according to United Franchise Group. The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill was co-founded by Nick A. Della Penna and Trent Jones, both described as culinary-trained, third-generation restaurateurs.
A Chain on a Growth Tear
Timonium's new eatery joins a brand expanding at a rapid clip. The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill operates more than 90 restaurants across 22 states and internationally, the Daily Record's report notes, and the company said in August it had 92 restaurants open across 22 states and abroad, according to the International Franchise Association. That same report said the brand remains on track to surpass 100 locations open and operating by the end of 2026.
During the first half of 2026 alone, the chain signed 20 domestic franchise agreements representing 30 future restaurants and opened eight new domestic locations, the trade group reported. It also signed a master franchise agreement covering Guyana and seven Caribbean countries, while reporting increases in both same-store sales and same-store transactions for its franchised restaurants. Two years earlier, the company had just 54 locations in 17 states plus a first international restaurant in Toronto, after opening seven new restaurants in the first half of 2024 and posting a 61% jump in systemwide sales over the same stretch in 2023, per United Franchise Group.
Part of a Wider Expansion Pattern
The Timonium debut fits a pattern the chain has repeated across the country. In Louisiana, the brand recently opened its first restaurant in that state at 2600 Forsyth Ave. in Monroe, a 2,300-square-foot shop owned by local entrepreneur Ankur Patel that likewise offers dine-in, takeout and catering for corporate events, community gatherings and family celebrations, according to RestaurantNews.com. Years earlier, the chain struck a multi-unit development agreement to bring five locations to the Charleston, South Carolina market, with the first store opening there in October 2021, per the company's own announcement.
For now, Baltimore County diners have their own stake in that expansion story, with a new option for gyros, bowls and baklava ice cream just off York Road in Timonium.
