Overview

NAYA began with a simple idea: share the flavors of home. Founder Hady Kfoury, raised in Beirut in a family where hospitality was second nature, spent summers visiting his aunt in Midtown East — the same neighborhood where he would one day open his first restaurant. Missing the freshness, brightness, and generosity of Lebanese cooking, he set out to bring those flavors to New York in a way that felt both authentic and modern. In 2008, with recipes crafted by his mother and aunt, NAYA Mezze & Grill, a full service restaurant, opened on Second Avenue and quickly earned a feature in The New York Times, signaling that New Yorkers were ready for a new take on Middle Eastern food.

As momentum grew, Hady introduced NAYA, a fast-casual evolution designed to offer the same bold, Lebanese-inspired flavors in an accessible, customizable format. Over the next decade, he expanded NAYA thoughtfully across Manhattan and beyond, refining the menu, design, and guest experience while staying rooted in the traditions he grew up with. Today, with 40 locations across five states, NAYA continues to bring fresh, vibrant Middle Eastern food to communities across the Northeast — guided by Hady’s vision and the family recipes that inspired it all.