Little Greek Targets Growth With Smaller Express Restaurants

Little Greek Fresh Grill is turning to smaller Express restaurants to expand into non-traditional sites, with three openings so far in 2026. The fast-casual Mediterranean brand has more than 60 restaurants across seven states and is targeting a network exceeding 100 locations by 2031, according to Franchise Times’ 29 October report.

Express format opens another route to growth

The Little Greek Express format gives franchisees a smaller-footprint option as the company looks for additional development opportunities. Rather than relying solely on its existing restaurant format, the brand is using Express locations to pursue non-traditional sites.

Three Express restaurants have opened this year, with a handful more in development. Those openings provide an initial operating presence for the format, although the report does not give a separate timetable for the locations still being developed.

The distinction matters: the three openings are completed additions, while the development pipeline represents prospective growth. Neither should be confused with the company’s longer-term ambition to exceed 100 restaurants.

For the US franchise community, the story is a specific example of an established restaurant brand adding a different property option to its growth strategy. The reported change is the smaller footprint and suitability for non-traditional locations, rather than a disclosed change to the wider Little Greek proposition.

Franchisees account for most of the network

Little Greek’s current network spans seven states and includes more than 60 restaurants. Approximately 80 per cent of its locations are franchised, according to the estimate attributed to Vojnovic in the Franchise Times report.

That makes franchisees central to the existing business. It also gives the Express format relevance beyond a limited company-operated experiment: the smaller restaurant option is being offered as another route for franchisee development.

However, the reported figures describe the overall network, not the ownership split of the three Express openings. They should not be used to infer how many of those new locations are franchised or company-operated.

The same caution applies to the brand’s geographical reach. Seven states describes Little Greek’s current presence, but it does not establish where future Express restaurants will open. The expansion opportunity is clear at the format level; a detailed geographical roll-out is not set out in the report.

More than 100 restaurants is the 2031 ambition

The company’s longer-term objective is to operate more than 100 locations by 2031. Express is part of the search for growth opportunities supporting that ambition, alongside the brand’s existing base of restaurants.

The target provides a useful horizon, but it is not a statement that all the required restaurants have been signed, secured or scheduled. The disclosed near-term evidence is narrower: three Express openings during 2026 and a handful of additional locations in development.

Nor does the report specify what proportion of future growth will come from Express restaurants. It would therefore be premature to describe the smaller format as replacing Little Greek’s existing model or becoming the majority of its network.

What is established is the direction of travel. Little Greek has moved beyond considering a smaller format and has opened restaurants using it. The next measure of progress will be how the additional development locations translate into openings and contribute to the wider restaurant count.

What prospective franchisees should assess

For prospective operators, a smaller footprint is a reason to examine the format, not a substitute for assessing the business. The report does not disclose Express investment requirements, operating costs, sales figures or comparative returns against other Little Greek restaurants.

Applicants should therefore seek format-specific information rather than assume that a smaller restaurant automatically means a lower total investment or stronger profitability. They should also distinguish between the brand’s network-wide experience and the operating record of its newer Express locations.

Practical takeaway: Little Greek Express adds a concrete development option to a predominantly franchised network. Prospective franchisees should request the format’s financial requirements, site criteria and opening support before treating the 2031 growth target as an investment case.