AUSTIN, Texas — A popular restaurant in northwest Austin hopes to reopen on Tuesday after a fire forced the owners to cancel Labor Day weekend reservations for nearly 2,000 people and spend the holiday cleaning up.
Electrical lines caught fire at Yamas Greek Kitchen + Bar on Friday, Aug. 30, around 6:30 p.m., sending sparks to the roof.
“We were packed,” recalled Hristos Nikolakos, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Roxie Nikolakos. “We had to send everybody home.”
“One of our servers, he was up there within seconds,” Roxie Roxie Nikolakos said. “He grabbed the extinguisher, and he put it out within seconds. And then my son ran across the street [to the fire station], and then that’s when he brought the fire department over.”
Hristos Nikolakos said while customers were cleared out, firefighters showed up within the minute, cut the roof open and put the fire out.
The couple said they’re grateful no one was hurt and that the fire didn’t happen overnight.
“Thank God the damage was minimal, but we had to replace all the wiring,” Hristos Nikolakos said.
He said his staff and longtime friends helped him make repairs during two days over the weekend.
“I bought $25,000 of food this weekend, which, a lot of it we had to throw away because we don’t have power to the fridge,” Hristos Nikolakos said.
Roxie Nikolakos told KVUE she personally called everyone with a reservation to notify them.
Minutes after KVUE’s interview on Monday afternoon, an electrician came by to inform Hristos and Roxie Nikolakos that he had been unable to find the $10 part needed to reconnect power because supply stores were closed on Labor Day.
Despite that disappointment, the couple still has gratitude for what they have received: the same community support seen since opening their dream restaurant a year ago.
“It’s crazy, the outpouring of the people, the love we get from our neighbors,” Hristos Nikolakos said.
KVUE also asked the couple how the public can help.
"Come back as customers," Hristos Nikolakos said. "That’s the only thing we want from them."
KVUE reached out to Austin Fire Department on Monday for more information about the fire, but its media relations office was closed because of the holiday.
More about Yamas
Last summer, the Nikolakos couple brought a niche dining experience to the Austin area by introducing a combination of modern and historic Greek meal options at their restaurant.
Yamas offers a wide variety of brunch and dinner options, with everything from the Skopelitiki cheese pie – filled with phyllo dough, honey, sesame and thyme – to the Keftedakia, or Greek meatballs, served with feta cheese, herbs and tomato sauce.
The restaurant opens at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, with reservations available online.