Nammos marks 10 years as Fraser Street’s dining scene flourishes

When Yianni Kerasiotis opened Nammos Estiatorio on Fraser Street in 2016 with his brother Petro, the stretch looked very different.

“We were lucky to have Earnest Ice Cream and Bâtard Bakery beside us,” Yianni Kerasiotis says. “But other than that, there wasn’t a lot until you got down toward Kingsway. Savio Volpe had just opened a couple months before us. That was kind of it.”

Ten years later, the neighbourhood has become one of Vancouver’s busiest independent dining corridors. Restaurants and cafés such as Chez Céline, Bar Bravo, Slo Coffee and Zab Bite have helped transform Fraser into a destination for casual dining and coffee culture.

Kerasiotis credits both experience — and their father’s advice — for choosing the location. There was no formal market research involved.

“We chose the location more in the old-school immigrant family way — a hunch,” Kerasiotis says. “My dad never did marketing research. He just worked hard, opened a spot and put his blood and sweat into it.”

His father Nikolaos “Nick” Kerasiotis arrived in Canada from Greece in the 1970s with his brothers and opened Olympia Pizza at Broadway and Trutch — a Vancouver institution that still operates today.

The family eventually became involved with some of Vancouver’s most recognizable nightlife venues over the decades, including Graceland, Luvaffair, Celebrities, Plaza, and later Venue.

The idea for Nammos came from their father.

“He suggested this location for me and my brother to run,” Kerasiotis says. “We decided to do Greek food because that’s what we know — but a bit different.”

Instead of the familiar North American Greek restaurant format — where rice, potatoes, souvlaki and salad often arrive together on one large plate — the brothers opted for a more contemporary approach.

“In Greece, you don’t really see that,” he says. “We wanted something more authentic, more tapas-style sharing plates.”

The upstairs space that eventually became Ama Raw Bar sat unused for years while the brothers focused on establishing Nammos. They had considered several concepts — from a sports bar to a lounge — but lacked the resources to launch a second business.

The pandemic created the opportunity.

“During COVID we had time to slow down and think about what we really wanted to do with the space,” Kerasiotis says.

They decided on a Japanese-inspired speakeasy-style business with an intimate, late-night atmosphere — closer to a cocktail lounge than a traditional restaurant.

Their most recent restaurant, Selene Aegean Bistro, brought their Greek-inspired cooking to Hastings-Sunrise. The restaurants operate under the umbrella of Gaia House Hospitality Group, the brothers’ growing hospitality company.

“It’s a beautiful area,” Kerasiotis says. “It actually reminds me of what Fraser Street was like a while ago. Even in the two and a half years since we started construction there you can see the neighbourhood growing.”

Their father passed away in 2021, but he was able to see his sons build their own restaurants.

“He understood what we were trying to do,” Kerasiotis says. “He wasn’t so old-school that he’d say, ‘What are you kids doing?’ But he was still calling every night — ‘How’s it going? Who’s there?’ You know, the classic parent thing.”

Asked about the most important lesson he learned from his father, Kerasiotis doesn’t hesitate.

“Just take care of people,” he says.

Mistakes are inevitable in restaurants, he says — a dish might come out cold or something else might go wrong.

“That’s what defines you.”

Nammos will celebrate its 10th anniversary on March 29 with a street-style Greek feast.

The restaurant plans to roast a whole lamb outdoors and offer an all-you-can-eat menu featuring items such as chicken souvlaki and lamb chops, along with beer and other drinks. Guests will also receive a limited-edition anniversary tote bag — a small memento marking a decade on a street that has changed dramatically since Nammos first opened its doors.

Source: vancouversun.com