The Simple Greek, Fast Casual Restaurant, Now Open in Highland Park, IL

CHICAGO, IL - The Simple Greek, a fast casual Greek and Mediterranean restaurant chain, announced that their new and improved Highland Park, IL restaurant is now open for business. The eatery will host a Greek fest in celebration of the recent renovations and to showcase the new yogurt bar on Saturday, August 8th, with live Greek music from Hellenic 5 and prizes and giveaways for patrons. The new location, which opened after partnering with Marcus Lemonis, entrepreneur and host of CNBC's The Profit, is located at 478 Central Avenue in Highland Park. It initially opened as a test kitchen on May 14th to garner customer feedback on atmosphere, customer service and taste and quality of the product offerings.

"We are hosting the Greek fest event on Saturday, August 8th to truly celebrate this milestone in the history of The Simple Greek," said Lemonis. "We have spent several weeks since our soft opening, testing and perfecting our food, layout and customer experience with constructive feedback from over 2,000 diners. This is the first location we have opened since our partnership began on The Profit, and what better way to kick-off the celebration and welcome patrons into our establishment than with our authentic Greek food and live Greek music paying homage to the heritage our cuisine is built around."

Lemonis' relationship with the restaurant, which was initially named My Big Fat Greek Gyro, began when the Pittsburgh chain was featured on his hit CNBC reality series, The Profit, where Lemonis turns around small struggling businesses and buys an ownership stake in the companies. Lemonis partnered with founders Michael Ference and Kathleen Kamouyerou-Ference, who fulfilled their dream of opening a Greek restaurant 10 years ago when they opened the McMurray, PA location. As a result of their partnership, all locations underwent extensive renovations to revamp storefronts and develop new, friendly and modernized sit down eating areas for customers.

The menu at The Simple Greek highlights Mediterranean dishes and desserts. Diners can savor plates such as traditional gyros or souvlaki served with fresh toppings in a warm pita and spanakopita on the side, or a steak and rice bowl garnished with cucumber yogurt sauce and fresh hummus. Authentic Greek salads and soups are other favorites that will be available daily, as well as a new revolutionary sweet and savory Greek yogurt bar being offered in the Highland Park location, where consumers can select their own toppings such as honey, figs, walnuts and other options.

The Simple Greek in Highland Park is open Monday thru Saturday from 11am to 8pm and Sunday from 11am to 7pm. For more information on The Simple Greek, or if you are interested in franchising opportunities across the country, please visit www.thesimplegreek.com.

The Simple Greek

The Simple Greek is a fast and casual restaurant chain, preparing fresh, handmade dishes to order for customers in an assembly-style line. Proudly featuring the authentic flavors and spices of Greece and the Mediterranean seaboard, the menu features dishes including pitas, rice and salad bowls with a variety of proteins, toppings and several sides to choose from at an affordable price. The Simple Greek prepares all meats and ingredients daily to ensure the highest level of quality and freshness.

The Simple Greek chain currently consists of four locations; three locations throughout the greater Pittsburg, PA area and a new facility in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, IL. For more information, and to inquire about franchising opportunities, visit www.TheSimpleGreek.com.

About Marcus Lemonis

Marcus Lemonis is an entrepreneur, investor, television personality, and chairman and CEO of Marcus Lemonis LLC as well as Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises. Camping World is the nation's largest RV and outdoor retailer, and Good Sam is the world's largest RV owner's organization. Visit www.campingworld.com

Lemonis is also known as the "business turnaround king" and host of CNBC's prime time reality series, The Profit, in which he lends his expertise to struggling small businesses around the country and judges businesses based on a "Three P" principle: People, Process, and Product. The Profit returns on Tuesday, November 3rd at 10pm ET/PT on CNBC.

More about Marcus Lemonis can be found at http://www.marcuslemonis.com, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/marcus.lemonis and Twitter @MarcusLemonis.

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