Nammos Celebrates a Decade as Fraser Street's Dining Scene Transforms
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Nammos Estiatorio, the first restaurant opened by brothers Petro and Yianni Kerasiotis and one of the pioneering establishments on a now-thriving stretch of Fraser Street in Vancouver. When the brothers launched Nammos in 2016, the neighborhood looked dramatically different, with only a handful of businesses like Earnest Ice Cream and Bâtard Bakery nearby.
From Humble Beginnings to Dining Destination
Ten years later, Fraser Street has blossomed into 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 the area into a vibrant hub for casual dining and coffee culture. The Kerasiotis brothers credit their father's advice and immigrant family intuition for choosing the location, rather than formal market research.
"We chose the location more in the old-school immigrant family way—a hunch," Yianni Kerasiotis explains. "My dad never did marketing research. He just worked hard, opened a spot, and put his blood and sweat into it."
A Family Legacy of Hospitality
The Kerasiotis family's roots in Vancouver's hospitality scene run deep. Their 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 remains operational today. Over the decades, the family became involved with several iconic nightlife venues, including Graceland, Luvaffair, Celebrities, Plaza, and later Venue.
It was their father who suggested the Fraser Street location for Nammos. "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."
Authentic Greek Dining with a Contemporary Twist
Instead of adhering to 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 and authentic approach. "In Greece, you don't really see that," he notes. "We wanted something more authentic, more tapas-style sharing plates."
The upstairs space, which eventually became Ama Raw Bar, remained unused for years as the brothers focused on establishing Nammos. They had considered various concepts—from a sports bar to a lounge—but lacked the resources to launch a second business. The pandemic, however, created an unexpected opportunity.
"During COVID we had time to slow down and think about what we really wanted to do with the space," Kerasiotis recalls. They ultimately decided on a Japanese-inspired speakeasy-style business with an intimate, late-night atmosphere, closer to a cocktail lounge than a traditional restaurant.
As Nammos celebrates its milestone anniversary, it stands as a testament to the Kerasiotis family's enduring legacy and the dynamic evolution of Fraser Street's dining landscape.
