Larry Macks considers himself somewhat of a connoisseur of off-the-beaten-path Mediterranean food restaurants. Whenever he visits a new city, he likes to scope out the best place for schawarma, hummus and falafel. “The best are always mom-and-pop places, small but with really good food,” he said. But finding these spots takes time, and the process is often hit or miss. So Mr. Macks and two friends decided to do what hadn’t yet been done: they opened a fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant in Chicago. They named it after the chewy flatbread that’s a staple of the cuisine: Roti.
Ten years later, there are six Roti locations in Chicago, three locations in D.C., and a fourth slated to open Friday on GW’s campus. Located on the ground floor of The Avenue, the new mixed-use development on Square 54, the Foggy Bottom Roti will offer a menu of sandwiches, salads and platters featuring grilled meats and vegetables, savory dips and sauces and Mediterranean crowd-pleasers like falafel.
“The Mediterranean diet is one of the oldest in the world, and one of the healthiest for you,” Mr. Macks said. “At Roti, everything is fresh, right out in front of you. So people have responded really well to it. They’re very loyal.”
Mr. Macks, who is a founding investor and board member of Roti, is also a GW family member. His daughter Sophia graduated in 2010, and during her four years on campus, he got involved with the GW Parents’ Association. “Right away, we thought GW was a phenomenal school. We loved the students and it has a great energy.”
While visiting Sophia on campus, Mr. Macks noted that there were few options for quick, healthy meals. “I though Roti’s food would be a good fit for GW—kids were eating at places that weren’t cheap, weren’t good for them, and weren’t particularly tasty. From the get-go, I thought that we should have a [Roti] store here.”
Mr. Macks is also chairman and CEO of Chesapeake Realty Partners, a firm that specializes in residential and retail developments. Chesapeake had worked with Boston Properties—the developer of The Avenue—on other projects, and when Mr. Macks learned that Boston Properties was developing Square 54, he worked with them to secure a space for Roti.
“This is the first Roti location that will be part of a campus community—we were really lucky to get that retail space on campus,” he explained. “We’re looking forward to working with the university, and we hope to become something that GW students are really proud of.”
The Foggy Bottom Roti will be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night—though Mr. Macks said they haven’t yet determined what hours “late night” will constitute. “We’ll let our customer base define what it means,” he said.
Peter Nolan, Roti’s director of marketing, said that the restaurant is committed to becoming a good member of the GW community. The Foggy Bottom location will feature recyclable cups made partly of recycled material and compostable utensils made of potato starch. Dine-in orders will be served on washable dishes with regular metal silverware, rather than disposables.
Mr. Nolan is working on a plan to support GW’s Freshman Day of Service this fall, perhaps by providing an after-party on Roti’s patio or distributing food coupons to students who participate in the service day. “We want to do something to support good work in the community,” he said.
Mr. Nolan also plans to invite GW students to become Roti’s “student ambassadors.” “We’d like to bring some students on board to help us connect to the charitable work happening on campus. The students know best what’s relevant,” he said.
David Earl, a new media planner for the university who’s also a graduate student, said he’s thrilled that Roti is coming to campus.
“I absolutely love Roti,” he said. “Love their service, their food, their customer polling and outreach. I’ll be there early on opening day and often.”
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