New international fusion restaurant gearing up for opening in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- What is soon to be Northeast Fresno's newest restaurant is already turning heads ahead of its soft opening.

The owners are giving us a sneak preview of the local details going into the decor and menu at Zaatar Euro Cuisine.

Brothers Rabi, Roy and Badih Nassar are now business partners.

They are working on building a menu and experience for diners.

"Zaatar has a very refreshing smell, so if you can see there are a lot of greens, there are going to be a lot of fresh greens," explained Badih.

Zaatar Euro Cuisine, off of Champlain and Shepherd, is named after a staple ingredient in Lebanese dishes, zaatar, known as the herb thyme.

"Usually, we mix it with sesame seed oil and sumac," said Badih.

Located across from Papi's, zaatar will soon be open for breakfast and lunch with a coffee bar and plans to serve dinner and drinks in the future.

Badih is a restaurateur with more than two decades of experience in Lebanon. He's excited to bring international fusion to Northeast Fresno.

"It's a mix of everything from the Mediterranean Sea all the way to the Pacific Ocean," Badih said. "We made it ourselves so it can go over here. We're going to mount it, and some greens will go down over."

Locally sourced isn't only applicable to the ingredients in the food...

"Mainly 90 percent of the wood in the place was coming down from Sequoia," said Roy.

Roy not only designed but built the planters, arches, shelves, and bar.

All of the wood came from trees downed in last year's storms near his cabin.

"It was nothing. It was probably like six days (of building)," said Roy.

Like the interior, the menu is still being built, but something you'll want to try is the mana'eesh.

"Mana'eesh means wraps made on fresh pita bread. It's similar to pizza."

You'll also find inspiration from their grandmother's cooking.

Mana'eesh Zaatar and cheese, meat pie, and chicken pie, it's very delicious," added Rabi.

The plan is to host a soft launch by the end of January, with a grand opening in February.

For news updates, follow Vanessa Vasconcelos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.