Contributed By
Abigail Jackson
Taziki’s Mediterranean Café is excited to announce its first collaboration with two female NCAA college athletes.
Taziki’s is partnering with Auburn softball player, Carlee McCondichie and University of Alabama basketball player Hannah Barber to promote fresh and healthy dietary options that are vital to a college athlete’s lifestyle.
Although there is a rivalry between Alabama and Auburn fans, these two athletes are both on #TeamTazikis. This week of rivalry has brought the girls together to celebrate their shared love of Taziki’s. Both girls will make scheduled appearances at select Taziki’s locations and will share content on their social media accounts.
“We are so happy to have Carlee and Hannah represent our brand,” said Julie Wade, senior director of marketing. “Both of these young ladies embody what our customers value most: healthy options for a lifestyle on the go.”
McCondichie is a junior at Auburn University who takes education as seriously as athletics, receiving First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll and 2021 SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll. McCondichie will make appearances on behalf of Taziki’s and will share content on her social media account.
McCondichie is a crucial utility player who serves excellently in several positions, including pinch runner, defensive substitution at second base, pinch hitter and as a reserve infielder. During her freshman season, McCondichie earned a starting position at second base and held a .469 average at the plate, the fifth highest in the SEC. McCondichie finished third on the team. Her sophomore season, she appeared in 29 games, primarily seeing time as a pinch runner or a defensive substitution at second base and was perfect defensively behind 13 putouts and 12 assists.
“I’m grateful for this opportunity to partner with Taziki’s,” McCondichie said. “I have grown up enjoying their healthy food.”
Taziki’s is one of the first fast-casual restaurants to sign an endorsement deal with female college athletes and is looking forward to this new opportunity to raise brand awareness while supporting student-athletes.
Barber is a senior star for Alabama’s Women’s Basketball team and thrives in her role as guard. She is ranked No. 26 in the nation and No. 2 in the SEC in her assist/turnover ratio. Not only a star on the court, Barber has great success in school too. She takes her education as seriously as athletics, receiving SEC Academic Honor Roll every year.
“I am so excited to be a part of Team Taziki’s, there’s no better way to fuel for long days of training,” Barber said. “They continue to set the standard in their communities by this commitment to women in sports.”
Taziki’s menu is known for its original chef-driven recipes prepared daily from more than 100 fresh produce items and more than 60 herbs and spices flavoring the food. Customer favorites include freshly grilled meats, unique sauces and healthy side dishes.
“College sports and community relationships are something of great importance to Taziki’s and our customers,” said Julie Wade, senior director of marketing for Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe. “Many of our restaurants are in college towns including Auburn and Tuscaloosa. These athletes enjoy our delicious food, specifically Taziki’s salads with proteins to fuel her athletic endeavors, which makes her the perfect fit with our brand. It is important to Taziki’s to recognize the importance of female athletes and the positive messages they send about living a healthy lifestyle.”
The restaurant’s website, tazikiscafe.com, provides descriptions of each entrée as well as nutritional information.
ABOUT TAZIKI’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFÉ
Taziki’s Mediterranean Café is a rapidly expanding brand, named one of America’s fastest growing leaders by Inc. 5000 in the fresh-casual industry. Having more than tripled in size since 2011, Taziki’s has over 90 restaurant locations, spanning across 18 states nationally. Development plans include building the brand in existing markets, as well as entering new areas across the country by 2023.
The essence of Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe is defined by serving fresh ingredients and hand-cut meats daily. The Mediterranean influence in its name echoes across its best-in-class, chef-inspired cuisine but is intentionally approachable for any person, anywhere. Taziki’s takes pride in its made-from-scratch food that nourishes customers daily and the artisanship that goes behind doing so without the use of fryers, or microwaves.
Taziki’s mission is to create an environment that combines extraordinary food with meaningful human connection.