At Yamas Kitchen, food has always been about more than what is on the plate. It is about family gathered around a table, recipes passed down through the years, and the belief that good food has a special way of bringing people together.
 

Our story began in Greece.
 

As a little girl, Maria Psiharis could often be found standing on a dining chair in the kitchen of her father Angelo’s restaurant, helping wherever she could and learning the traditions of Mediterranean cooking from the people around her. What started on that chair became a lifelong passion for feeding people.

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Maria’s husband, Niko, was born and raised in Greece, where he learned to cook from his mother and grew up surrounded by the simple, comforting recipes of village life. After moving to Canada, Niko continued his passion for cooking and has spent the past 25 years as a Head Cook, with Greek dishes being his specialty.
 

Together, Maria and Niko have built a life around food, family and hospitality.
 

Throughout her career, Maria’s cooking has been part of the success of many restaurants and kitchens. Her food is rooted in the Greek dishes she grew up with, while her years of experience have expanded her kitchen to include hearty steaks, comforting pastas and, perhaps most famously, pizzas that have developed a loyal following of their own.
 

Now, that story continues with their daughter, Ioanna Hansen, and her husband, Haakon Hansen.

Ioanna and Haakon’s love of restaurants began long before Yamas Kitchen. High school sweethearts, they started working in the restaurant at just 14 and 15 years old and continued into their early twenties before their next adventures. Those years gave them countless memories, a love story rooted in the restaurant, and a deep appreciation for the connections made around a table.
 

Today, they are bringing those experiences and memories to the Town of Crossfield and creating a place of their own.
 

And they are not doing it alone.
 

Yamas Kitchen is truly family-run. Alongside Maria and Niko, Ioanna and Haakon have the love and support of Ioanna’s sister, Effie, and her husband, Thano. Everyone brings their own experiences and strengths to the restaurant, but we share the same love of food, family and hospitality.
 

Crossfield has become home to our family in a way that feels deeply familiar. There is something about a small town where people know their neighbours, families grow together, and community still matters that reminds us of village life back home in Greece. It is the kind of place where food, friendship and conversation belong around the same table — and it is exactly where we wanted to build this next chapter.
 

We hope that when you walk through our doors, you feel like you are joining us at our own table. Whether you come for a Greek favourite, one of Niko’s traditional dishes, a steak, a comforting bowl of pasta, one of Maria’s pizzas, or simply a meal shared with people you love, we hope you leave feeling full, welcomed and part of our story.
 

Most of all, we are looking forward to getting to know our Crossfield community, becoming part of the moments that matter, and creating many new memories together around the table.

Because for our family, the best meals have never just been about food.

They are about the people we share them with.
 

From our family’s table to yours — Yamas.