PERRYSBURG – Starting up and maintaining a small business is difficult.
Approximately 20-22 percent of new small businesses fail within their very first year. Approximately 30-33 percent fail within the second year, and roughly half of all new small businesses have permanently closed their doors within five years.
One local Mediterranean-style family empire seems to be beating the odds.
On June 29, the father/sons team at Zane’s Lebanese Grill signed a lease to open their sixth local location, to be located in Perrysburg.
“We tried to get into Perrysburg the last three years and it never worked out,” said Ali Ismail, 34, co-owner of Zane’s Lebanese Grill and Zane’s Lebanese Grill & Cafe along with his father, Zane Ismail, 67, and brothers Muhamed Ismail, 36, and Jaafer Ismail, 30.
The three brothers are all graduates of Ottawa Hills High School.
Muhamed earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from the University of Toledo. Ali earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a master’s degree in public health and epidemiology from UToledo. Jaafer earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Lourdes University.
Zane’s Lebanese Grill also has locations in Toledo, Sylvania, Maumee, Bowling Green, and Lambertville, Mich. The Perrysburg location will be located at 26567 N. Dixie Highway, Suite 133, and is scheduled to open in 2027.
Zane, who emigrated to the United States from Lebanon when he was 16, started Sharif’s Restaurant on Monroe Street in 1976 and sold it in 1990. He later opened Pita Sub on Main Street in Sylvania.
Pita Sub relocated to the former Jet’s Pizza at 4900 N. McCord Rd., in Sylvania in 2017. Pita Sub Express, as the Sylvania location was called, was renamed to Zane’s after the family convinced their father to allow them to use his name.
Zane’s Lebanese Grill & Cafe, which opened in Sylvania in 2023, and its sister locations have a build-your-own-roll-or-bowl concept. The business slogan is “roll it or bowl it,” and everything is made from scratch using mostly Zane Ismail’s recipes.
All of the ingredients are made fresh daily.
Items on the menu can be made in a bowl or rolled into a wrap.
The Supreme Bowl, a popular selection on the menu, consists of customers starting with a base of rice, lettuce or hummus and topped with two proteins or double of one protein. Options include chicken, gyro, beef, falafel, beef shawarma, kafta, BBQ chicken or a grilled veggie kabob.
All of the meat is 100 percent zabiha halal. Bowls, including the Original Bowl and Hummus Bowl, can be made gluten free or dairy free.
Zane’s homemade sauces include garlic sauce, cucumber sauce, BBQ sauce, tahini sauce, smoked eggplant hummus, and Lebanese salsa.
All three brothers are big fans of their father, and they appreciate the risks he took opening his restaurants.
“My dad is very intuitive,” Ali said. “Sometimes that guy can tell the future. Taking that and learning from all our past experiences is how we determine our next steps. His input will always be there and will be respected. Us three [sons] have his ways ingrained in us. He knows who he raised.”
Jaafer said, “He is loving, caring and very passionate about everything. He has a willingness to be creative and understated. Putting love in the food and the [dining] experience defines his success.”
Muhamed added the best way he can describe his father is as a “genuine, unique, giving human being.”
Zane’s Lebanese Grill also offers a Zane’s Cafe at its Sylvania and Bowling Green locations. The Cafes feature hot and cold drinks, including espresso, Turkish coffee, organic coffee, lattes and the “very popular” Adani chai, an organic tea with milk, cardamom and spices.
“We made 300 batches of chai before we found the right recipe,” Jaafer said. “Everything we do about making our chai is intentional. Our coffees, we have everything ranging from organic black coffee to peach coffee to pistachio coffee to Dubai chocolate coffee.”
Both Cafe locations are open on Sundays, but the grills are closed – for now. Current Zane’s hours are Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., but the Zane’s team said a plan to open all six locations on Sundays is “in the works.”
“Customers have been asking,” Ali said.
Sweets like baklava, rice pudding, cheesecake, baklava cheesecake, and cookies are some of the items available daily.
Ali said the Zane’s team has always intended its menu to reflect “good health” and offer sizeable portions.
“It’s a lot of food,” Ali said. “You get a lot at a fair price and you get what you pay for. Everything is made from scratch. You can come in here and be very relaxed. We are such a melting pot. People from all groups have reasons to come here.
“People come here for business meetings or for a date or after the gym,” he added. “You can see police officers, people in scrubs … You don’t have to be dressed a certain way, so it’s very convenient.”
Zane’s Lebanese Grill & Cafe also offers catering. Visit Zanesgrill.com to learn more.
