Triangle Business Journal
By Kate Tracy
June 16, 2026
After getting established in Charlotte, a Turkish-inspired cafe and a restaurant are doubling down on the Triangle.
Vavela Cafe and Chex Grill & Wings have leased 9,500 square feet of space in two suites at 555 Mangum in Durham.
“For us it seemed like a hot spot,” owner Khaled Shamma said. “There’s a lot of foot traffic. We have our team giving us insights. … It’s been a process, but we just thought it would be a good fit. ”
Vavela has already leased space at Raleigh’s former Kmart at 4500 Western Blvd., where it’s joining other retailers at the CityPlat-owned property that’s currently under construction.
“It’s a really good hot spot for college kids. I’m pretty sure it’ll be accessible by bus as well,” Shamma said of the Raleigh location.
Shamma plans to open both Raleigh and Durham locations by the end of the year. He operates the businesses with his brother.
Vavela Cafe has one location in Charlotte, which opened last February. The cafe is also expanding to a second Charlotte outpost as well as New Jersey and South Carolina, according to its website.
Shamma said he and his family took a trip to Turkey and he was inspired by a small coffee shop called Vavela in Istanbul, so he decided to partner with the cafe and bring it to Charlotte. The menu features pistachio lattes, paninis, the Middle Eastern dessert kunafa, frappes and more.
Chex Grill & Wings has 21 locations in the Carolinas and Tennessee. The Durham location will join one other in the Triangle, at 3006 Hillsborough St. in Raleigh near N.C. State. Shamma said he opened his first Chex location in Charlotte in 2014. The restaurant serves wings, burgers, salads and more.
When Shamma’s son transferred to N.C. State, Shamma started looking at options in the Triangle area for growing his businesses here. Shamma currently employs more than 100 people but did not share how many he plans to hire for the Raleigh and Durham locations.
Shamma estimated the buildout for both Raleigh and Durham to be about $1 million and is reinvesting revenue from the business into the expansion. The business also has investors but did not take out any SBA loans to expand.
He wants to open more locations in the area in the future.
“I think maybe Cary might be the next move for us, just because I know Cary has a lot of potential,” he said.
In addition to Vavela and Chex, 555 Mangum has lined up Jetset Pilates as another retail tenant. The building still has 5,000 square feet of retail space that’s available at the office building. David Hepp with Hepp Commercial Real Estate represented Vavela and Chex Grill in its lease at 555 Mangum, while Bruce Alexander and Liv Jorgenson with Maverick Partners Realty Services represented the building owner Accesso.
“I hope that both of them become a breath of fresh air for many of the customers in the Triangle,” he said.