Inside a Doctor’s Approach to Building a Restaurant

A Doctor-Founded Restaurant Changing the Health Conversation

When Dr. Raj Pandya opened Azara in December 2025 along Atlanta’s BeltLine, he broke ground as one of the first practicing doctors to open and operate a restaurant—not just invest in one. A longtime orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine physician, Pandya drew on his nutrition science background to shape the concept and menu.

It’s not a totally off-base idea: Research from Datassential shows that the majority (60%) of consumers have actively prioritized their physical health more in the past year than in previous years. When dining out, 53% of consumers choose menu items that sound delicious over ones they think are healthiest, but 35% want both tasty and health-forward items, according to the research firm.

Pandya shares how he thought outside the box to come up with a non-traditional restaurant concept—and what other operators can learn from the experience of trying something new.

Start with a Clear Mission

Pandya says Azara’s purpose goes well beyond sales or growth. “Our goal is far bigger than making a profitable restaurant. We want to do that so we can exist, but our goal is something much bigger—we want to change the way people rethink their relationship with food and health.”

Hot Tip: Ensure that every decision, from menu development to dining room design, reinforces your mission.

Hire People Who Believe in Your Concept

For Pandya, one of the biggest challenges wasn’t designing the restaurant—it was finding a strong culinary partner. “The hardest part was trying to find a chef who believed in the concept.”

Hot Tip: Prioritize partners and team members who are committed to your vision, but excited about experimentation.

Lead with Flavor, Not Just Health

Pandya believes many “healthy” restaurants struggle because they prioritize nutrition over taste, even though nutrition is still important. “Health food too often is binary—you have something healthy and it doesn’t taste good. Why can’t we have world-class food that also happens to be really good for you?”

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From lentil bolognese to purple sweet potato stir-fry with fresh vegetables and organic, free-range chicken with creamy corn polenta and black-eyed pea stew, Azara’s menu is packed with flavor as well as fiber and protein—two big hits right now, as noted in this article about fibermaxxing and protein.

Hot Tip: Make sure menu items are craveable before anything else.

Reimagine Familiar Foods Instead of Replacing Them

Rather than eliminating comfort foods entirely, Azara’s menu reimagines them with more nutritious ingredients. Pandya points to empanadas as an example. “The empanada to me is nothing but a vehicle. It’s a container for what you put inside of it. Can you imagine putting lentils and a purple sweet potato in an empanada and make it taste phenomenal?”

Hot Tip: Lean on recognizable ingredients, but be bold—try new twists.

Learn more about trending ingredient and flavors.