SAJJ Mediterranean is bringing its customizable bowls, wraps and salads to Stanford University's Tresidder Memorial Union, marking the Bay Area chain's first restaurant inside a college campus.

The fast-casual chain plans to open the location at 459 Lagunita Drive before fall classes begin Sept. 22, founder and CEO Zaid Ayoub announced, the Mercury News reported. The Stanford spot will follow the same build-your-own format as SAJJ's standalone stores, with diners choosing from spreads, sauces and toppings that include sumac cauliflower, pickled turnips and a new feta-mint drizzle. All meats and poultry are halal-certified. A cup of lentil soup comes free with every order.

Ayoub started SAJJ as a Silicon Valley food truck in 2012. The company now operates 11 brick-and-mortar locations across the Bay Area, including spots in Menlo Park, Mountain View and Sunnyvale, plus a recently opened third San Francisco restaurant at 71 Stevenson St.

"The Bay Area is home for SAJJ, and we believe there is still tremendous opportunity to grow here," Ayoub told QSR Magazine in comments reported by Patch on Sept. 1.

The Stanford location is what the company calls a "non-traditional" restaurant, meaning it sits inside a university dining facility rather than a freestanding storefront. Ayoub said the company plans to pursue more non-traditional sites while also building a franchise strategy to reach new markets. In the same Patch report, Ayoub said the company is "continuing to invest in corporate growth in our home market while building a franchise strategy that can introduce SAJJ to more communities throughout California and beyond."

QSR Magazine reported that SAJJ recorded a 10% year-to-date increase in same-store sales as it enters this expansion phase.

The opening would add a new dining option near campus at a time when Palo Alto's broader retail picture is brightening. University Avenue's retail vacancy rate fell to 13.4% in 2025 from a decade-high 17.4% at the start of 2024, and California Avenue's rate dropped to 5.4% from 10% over the same period, according to city spokesperson Meghan Horrigan-Taylor, as the East Bay Times reported in June.

SAJJ's vegetables are sourced from nine California farms, including growers in Petaluma, Brentwood, Half Moon Bay, Oxnard and Carlsbad, all listed on the restaurant's website. The Tresidder location's hours and seating details have not been announced.