Sam Karame

I grew up inside a family business. For twenty-four years, my father and brothers and I have been building Mediterranean Maison Inc. — the family holding group behind Chicken Maison and Top Tenders, now thirteen restaurants across the South Bay and Orange County, built one location at a time, one decision at a time.

That work taught me what the rest of my life is built on: unit economics matter, people decisions matter more, and durability beats cleverness on any time horizon that counts. Most of my job is deciding how a team is shaped — who leads, who's ready, when the structure needs to change.

Alongside the restaurants, I've spent my career inside markets. I'm an Options Principal and an analyst inside a private trading community. Markets are where I learned to sit with uncertainty, take risk seriously, and respect cycles older than any of us.

In 2025, I founded The Cedar Institute — a research foundation advancing assisted therapy for neurodivergent communities. It's the work I expect to care about longest.

I hold an M.A. in Theology and completed two years of law school. Theology shapes how I lead. Law shapes how I operate. Neither is a credential I trade on; both are training I rely on every day.

I work at the intersection of those worlds — operator, analyst, founder — and the throughline is the same discipline: build things that last, respect the people doing the work, stay humble about what you don't know.

I grew up in Manhattan Beach, went to Mira Costa High School, and went to college in California. I live and work between Rolling Hills and Newport Beach with my family. I read more than I post. I build more than I announce. I also work in audio and video — production and engineering.

Still learning. Still building.

Mediterranean Maison Inc. is the family holding group my father founded twenty-four years ago. Today it operates Chicken Maison and Top Tenders across thirteen locations in the South Bay and Orange County, and formerly included 4 Brothers Restaurant. My brothers and I have grown it alongside him ever since.

My work sits at the operational seams — unit economics, who leads and who reports to whom, vendor strategy, compliance, systems, and the long, unglamorous work of building something that lasts. A lot of that is structure: deciding when a region needs a different management shape than the one next to it, and which operators are ready before they think they are.

I also consult on operational architecture for multi-unit businesses — particularly the infrastructure decisions that determine whether a growing company scales with discipline or against itself.

In recent years, I've led the group's internal AI and operations architecture — the systems that let a thirteen-unit family business operate with the rigor of something much larger.

13 locations · South Bay to Orange County · Family-owned since 2001

Mediterranean Maison Inc. — accounting and holding group. Chicken Maison — operating brand headquarters. Personal office opening in Orange County.

The Cedar Institute is a research foundation I founded to advance assisted therapy for neurodivergent populations. Cedar is institutional work — a long-horizon effort to build the research base, clinical partnerships, and public understanding this field deserves.

The work is slow by design. Credibility in this space is built through rigor, not momentum. Cedar exists to do the research that takes years to matter — and to make sure it reaches the communities and practitioners who need it most.

I serve as Founder and President. The Institute's work, mission, and current programs live on its own site.

I've trained as a public speaker for eight years. That work has taken a lot of shapes — teaching business modules to operators overseas, mock trial advocacy, officiating weddings for people I love, and speaking in faith and leadership contexts.

The throughline is the same as the rest of my work: say what's useful, respect the room, don't waste the time given.

Topics

Multi-unit operations and family business. Long-horizon stewardship in markets. Research and assisted therapy for neurodivergent populations. Leadership informed by theology and law.

For speaking or teaching inquiry: [email protected]