Cafe Medi’s menu features many classic Greek and Mediterranean dishes, such as gyros made with roasted beef and lamb and dolmas—grape leaves stuffed with rice, onions, dill and other seasonings. Moursi said other favorites include moussaka, a type of casserole made with eggplant, beef, parmesan and bechamel that is topped with marinara.
Sometimes the restaurant will offer new dishes as specials, but otherwise the menu has remained the same since the Hurst location opened.
“It’s grandma’s recipes,” he said. “It’s something authentic and originally from Greece.”
Moursi moved to the area from Greece in 1995, and he now runs the Keller location with Theresa, his wife. Mat Obli, his brother, runs the location in Hurst. Other family members also work at the restaurants, and Moursi said he considers the employees part of the family as well.
The restaurants have held on through a turbulent year for the restaurant industry. Now, Moursi said, they are facing the same shortage of workers that many businesses are contending with, and he has been filling in wherever possible while searching for new staff.
Moursi draws a line between corporate restaurant chains and small, family-owned businesses like Cafe Medi, which rely on the mutual appreciation between the business and its customers to survive.
“I saw a lot of restaurants just give up [last year]. Some of them were in business for years,” he said. “With the support of customers, the loyal customers, family members and staff, we managed to survive.”
Cafe Medi, 129 Olive St., Keller. 817-337-3204. www.cafemedi.com Hours: Tue.-Thu. 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 5-8:30 p.m; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 5-9 p.m; Sun. 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m.; closed Mondays
