Yamas Mediterranean Street Food

Yamas Mediterranean Street Food is a build-your-own Mediterranean spot in Winston-Salem, NC — the newest concept from the Michael Family Restaurant Group, the same family behind Mama Zoe Michael’s. The name means “cheers to good health,” and the concept delivers on it: grain bowls, salad bowls, and pita sandwiches built to order from Greek and Cypriot recipes, with house-made spreads, dressings, and fresh toppings.

The menu is broad and easy to customize, with vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and keto options built into the format rather than bolted on. It’s fast-casual in structure — you move down the line choosing a base, a protein, spreads, and toppings — but the ingredients and family recipes behind it come from a restaurant group that’s been cooking in Winston-Salem since 2007.

Be sure to check out the pictures below to get a feel for Yamas Mediterranean Street Food before you go — or to relive the visit after.

The Michael Family and the Newest Concept

Yamas is the latest chapter in a Winston-Salem restaurant story that goes back nearly two decades. The Michael family — a Greek and Cypriot family of, in their own words, dreamers and travelers — moved to Winston-Salem in 2007 and entered the local dining scene by founding Mama Zoe Michael’s. From there they built out a full restaurant group, adding Waldo’s Wings and Cin Cin Burger Bar before turning to Yamas.

The idea behind Yamas was to make something more personal than another burger-and-wings concept. When the family looked at expanding into a more central downtown location, they wanted a restaurant that tied directly to their own heritage — their native Greek and Cypriot cooking — and brought something genuinely new to Winston-Salem. Yamas Mediterranean Street Food opened in March 2019 at 624 West Fourth Street downtown, and it caught on quickly enough to expand.

Today Yamas operates multiple locations, including the original downtown spot on West Fourth Street, a Hanes Mall–area location in the Shoppes on Little Creek off Hanes Mall Boulevard, and a location on the campus of Wake Forest University. All are locally owned and operated by the same family, with the same attention to fresh ingredients and dietary flexibility across each.

The Build-Your-Own Format

The heart of Yamas is the “Build Your Favorite” line. You start with a base — a grain bowl, a salad bowl, or a pita sandwich — then work through proteins, spreads, and toppings to assemble exactly what you want. The staff are used to walking newcomers through it, and the portions are generous enough that a single bowl often stretches to two meals.

The proteins run from spit-roasted gyro (a beef and lamb blend) and grilled chicken souvlaki to pomegranate-braised lamb, feta-and-tomato beef meatballs, and falafel. The spreads and sauces are where the kitchen shows off — tzatziki, harissa yogurt, white chocolate baba ganoush, feisty feta mousse, roasted red pepper chickpea dressing, and lemon-lime tahini among them. Toppings span sumac pickled onions, marinated chickpeas, gigantes (giant beans), dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), marinated olives, seasoned fries, and cauliflower tabbouleh, with lemon basmati rice or ancient freekeh wheat as bases.

Beyond the build-your-own line, Yamas offers fresh juices, Greek pastries like kataifi and floyeres, and a set of signature preset bowls and sandwiches for anyone who’d rather not assemble their own. The vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and keto options are woven throughout, which makes Yamas one of the easier group stops in the city when everyone’s eating differently.

Good to Know

• Hanes Mall–area location (visited): 1330 Creekshire Way, Winston-Salem, NC 27103 (Shoppes on Little Creek, off Hanes Mall Boulevard)
• Original location: 624 West Fourth Street, downtown Winston-Salem
• Also at: Wake Forest University campus
• Hours: Open daily, generally late morning into the evening — check the Yamas website for current hours at each location
• Owner: The Michael Family Restaurant Group
• The name: “Yamas” means “cheers to good health”
• Opened: March 2019 (original downtown location)
• The cuisine: Greek and Cypriot Mediterranean, build-your-own — grain bowls, salad bowls, and pita sandwiches
• Proteins: Gyro (beef and lamb), chicken souvlaki, pomegranate-braised lamb, feta-and-tomato meatballs, and falafel
• Signature spreads: Tzatziki, harissa yogurt, white chocolate baba ganoush, feisty feta mousse, and lemon-lime tahini
• Also on the menu: Fresh juices, Greek pastries (kataifi, floyeres), and preset bowls and sandwiches
• Dietary options: Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and keto built into the format
• Sister restaurants: Mama Zoe Michael’s, Waldo’s Wings, and Cin Cin Burger Bar
• Best for: Fast-casual Mediterranean, build-your-own eaters, vegans and vegetarians, gluten-free and keto diners, and healthy lunches
• Pair with: The full Winston-Salem food and beverage cluster; Mama Zoe Michael’s from the same family; or, near the downtown location, Foothills Brewpub, Heff’s Burger Club, and Camino Bakery on the Fourth Street corridor

A Winston-Salem Highlight

Yamas is the Michael family’s most personal restaurant, and you can taste the intention behind it. After building a Winston-Salem portfolio on burgers and wings — Mama Zoe Michael’s, Waldo’s Wings, Cin Cin Burger Bar — the family wanted their next place to reflect where they came from. Yamas, built on its native Greek and Cypriot cooking, was the answer, bringing a genuinely fresh option to the city when it opened in 2019.

The build-your-own format is the fun of it. Pick a bowl or a pita, then work down the line through gyro, souvlaki, or braised lamb, spreads like harissa yogurt and white chocolate baba ganoush, and toppings from sumac pickled onions to gigantes. If it’s your first time, let the staff steer you — and count on leftovers, since the portions run generous.

It’s also one of the easiest spots in Winston-Salem to feed a mixed table. Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and keto all work here without special-ordering, which is rarer than it should be. Grab a fresh juice, finish with a Greek pastry, and raise a bowl to good health — which is, after all, what “Yamas” means.

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Resources

Yamas Mediterranean Street Food Website

Yamas Instagram

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Location

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Social Media

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