After 36 years of serving Middle Eastern cuisine on Marshall Street, King David’s Restaurant is moving upstairs to make way for a Chipotle Mexican Grill.

The restaurant will serve its last meals Friday on the first floor of the two-story building where it is currently located. Charlie Hatem, son of the current owners Milad and Angela Hatem, will take over ownership of the restaurant. He hopes to open the new location in March or April of next year, he said.

King David’s had been in contact with Chipotle for nearly a year before striking a final agreement about a month ago for King David’s to lease the lower floor of the building to Chipotle, Charlie said. The Syracuse Common Council unanimously approved Chipotle’s proposal to replace the restaurant on Nov. 8.

King David’s will cut some items from the menu when it moves upstairs, specifically those that take longer to prepare, but will keep popular dishes like falafels on the menu. The new location will also have more of a ‘Middle Eastern flare,’ he said.

‘It’ll be a bit smaller,’ he said. ‘It’ll be more intimate, nicer view. You got a great view of the campus.’

mcboren@syr.edu