While he believes it is too soon to experience the rewards of owning Jado’z Grill House, located at 804 S. Friendswood Drive, Jad Zeidan is ready to see the restaurant flourish.

“It’s stressful, but it’s worthwhile. It’s a lot of open to closes, being here sometimes 18 hours a day. But hopefully it will start to catch on—start to run itself,” Zeidan said.

Zeidan grew up working in restaurants and was the manager of his father’s restaurant. Many of the menu’s American and Mediterranean dishes are adapted from his father’s recipes, with Zeidan’s touch.

After graduating college Zeidan, age 26, worked as a logistics broker for six months before deciding a desk job was not for him.

“I would go and sit there for 9 hours and get an hour lunch break, and they’re counting down how long it takes you to go to the restroom,” Zeidan said. “I just wasn’t about being micromanaged like that.”

Zeidan’s father, Mazen, was in the business for 27 years before the family closed Mediterranean Chef, located in Galveston on the Strand, to help Zeidan open his restaurant. According to Zeidan, Mazen is his biggest supporter.

“He is the silent investor,” Zeidan said.

“I went through probably four, five, six different versions of the menu. It’s been updated for the past two years,” Zeidan said.

Popular specials include the tropical seafood platter and the lamb chops.

While Zeidan played around with different concepts and names for the restaurant, he ultimately thought a modern bar and grill would fill a niche in Friendswood. The name came to him one day when a family friend called him “Jado,” a lifelong nickname. The “z” is for “Zeidan.”

Jado’z is only two months old, but Zeidan is already planning to expand. But for now he said he is focused on striking the right balance.

“Right now we’re focused on fixing the more operational side of things in the restaurant before we step into the patio [and] the brunch menu because we want to make sure everything is 100 percent before we even attempt to give our guests that kind of offering,” Zeidan said.