PULLMAN, WA – Yia Yia Nikki’s restaurant opened on January 18 at 1300 S. Grand Ave in Pullman, the third in the franchise opened by Egyptian-born owner Monir Desouky, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News (MPDN) reported, noting that the restaurant specializes in Greek and Mediterranean dishes, including spanakopita and gyro.

Desouky told MPDN that although it does seem like a risky move to open during a pandemic, he is “confident his restaurant will be popular among residents.”

“We make everything fresh from scratch with high quality ingredients, and everything is cooked to order,” Desouky told MPDN.

“Part of the reason Desouky chose to purchase the bank building for his restaurant was that it came equipped with a drive-through window — a feature he said will prove especially useful during the pandemic because dine-in eating is not an option,” MPDN reported.

Desouky has over 45 years of experience in the food service industry in the Northwest United States and “after a successful 10 years owning the two other Yia Yia Nikki’s locations in Oregon, he said he wanted to open up a third restaurant to be closer to his two sons, Ori and Monir Jr., who live in Pullman,” MPDN reported.

His sons and wife, Tina, have helped with the opening of the new location and Desouky told MPDN that “working alongside them is one of his favorite parts of his profession.”

“We’ve been working together a long time, and we have fun with it,” he said, MPDN reported, adding that his upbringing in Egypt “taught him a lot about Greek and Mediterreanean food.”

“As a boy, he became familiar with the dishes his restaurant offers such as beef kofta meatballs,” MPDN reported.

“We throw our heart and soul into this food. ‘Yia Yia’ means ‘grandma’ in Greek, so we like to say our food is made with the love of a grandmother,” Tina told MPDN.

Yia Yia Nikki’s hours of operation: Monday-Saturday 10 AM-8 PM, closed on Sundays.