Middle Eastern fast-casual restaurant NAYA opens Kendall Square location on Jan. 14
The store sells custom bowls, rolls, and salads
Vivian Hir–The Tech
On Jan. 14, Middle Eastern fast-casual restaurant chain NAYA opened its fourth Massachusetts location in Kendall Square, accompanying two in Boston and one in Watertown. The previous tenant of the Kendall Square storefront, vegetarian fast food chain Clover Food Labs, closed in 2024.
Inspired by Lebanese cuisine, NAYA has over 40 locations in the Northeast, mostly in New York City. Customers can create their own custom bowl, pita roll, or salad that includes a base, protein, and unlimited toppings. Depending on the protein, rolls cost between $10.59 to $13.50, while bowls cost between $11.99 to $14.99. The restaurant also sells appetizers, desserts, and pantry items such as za’atar. According to store manager Jefferson Assis, the most popular order is the chicken shawarma rice bowl while the most popular appetizer is rekakat, a Lebanese cheese roll.
On the morning of Jan. 14, NAYA founder Hady Kfoury and Cambridge Chamber of Commerce representatives held a ribbon cutting ceremony. In addition, the store gave out free or discounted meals to customers at Kendall Square. The first 50 bowls were free and remaining bowls were sold at $5. Sales from the first day went to charity. On the website, people could spin a wheel to get an opening prize, which included discounts such as buy-one, get-one deals.
“The first week of business was okay, and we expect more [business] when the college kids come back,” Assis said.
Assis stated that NAYA differs from CAVA, another fast-casual restaurant serving custom bowls and rolls, in that NAYA is Middle Eastern while CAVA is Mediterranean. Assis also pointed out that NAYA has chicken and beef shawarma, which are protein options not offered at CAVA. In terms of price, CAVA’s build your own bowls and rolls are $12.25, which are comparable to NAYA’s prices, though CAVA’s featured menu items and chef-curated pitas are between $12.25 to $17.05.
NAYA’s location on 355 Main St. is open seven days a week from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.