The Dough Show, a restaurant specializing in Middle Eastern dishes, is open at 12681 Bartram Park Blvd., west of Interstate 295.
It is an Orlando-based company with plans to open restaurants throughout Florida.
The first Dough Show opened in Orlando near the University of Central Florida, with the second in Tampa near the University of South Florida. Along with Jacksonville, two more locations are planned this year in Orlando and Kissimmee, according to Omar Shawky who co-owns the restaurants with Ihab Mahmoud and Mohamed Momen.
The plan is to have at least 10 Dough Show locations opened in Florida by the second quarter of 2026. Expansion sites are planned in northern Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton.
The restaurants are owner-operated, not franchises. Each location is a separate LLC.
Profits are split 20% to the owner-operator, 40% to the investor and 40% to Dough Show founders.
Shawky said the business strategy works because investors get a hefty return and restaurant owners are encouraged to turn the largest profit possible.
“Our investors are getting a very lucrative return on investment, and we have a lot of investors already who have showed an interest and commitment to open more than 40 locations with us. So we have no issue when it comes to the capital.”
Their business philosophy is to have employees attend training in Orlando where they are taught the company’s values and recipes.
Shawky told the Daily Record in July that The Dough Show investor for Jacksonville is a American-Jordanian investor in the Midwest. He said the group recruited Jacksonville’s separate owner-operator from Arkansas. The partners have specific and complementary roles, he said.
Mahmoud, the founder, is responsible for the customer experience, the décor and interior design and social media. The name was his idea.
The design features an open kitchen with the food grilled in front of the customer, creating – along with the dough preparation – the show, hence the name.
Momen, with brand-building experience, is responsible for operations and menu engineering.
Shawky, an investment banker, is practiced in funding, early-stage brand investment and growth into private or public companies.
The menu features Middle Eastern cuisine from three regions, such as feteer, which is Egyptian pie, either savory or sweet; Levant shawarma; and Turkish mixed grill.
Opening in Jacksonville was the first time the partners have gone into a market unfamiliar to them. Shawky said he was overwhelmed by the turnout when they opened the doors on Nov. 22.
It was the most successful opening day they have had to date, he said.
“Jacksonville is a big test for us, and it’s a challenge, but we take it as a huge opportunity,” Shawky said.
“It’s a territory that we’re not very familiar with personally, but we did our research and we believe that our concept will work for the people there.”
The Dough Show is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.