Ahmo's Gyros & Deli to open Ypsilanti location
Ahmo's Gyros & Deli will open a new location in Ypsilanti at 1425 Washtenaw Ave.
Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com
Ahmo's Gyros & Deli will soon open in the former Pinter's Flowerland building on Washtenaw Avenue in Ypsilanti, a city official confirmed.
The Ypsilanti Planning Commission unanimously approved Mohamad Issa's site plan with conditions Wednesday night, allowing him to move forward with opening the business.
"He did confirm it will be an Ahmo's," said Assistant City Planner Bonnie Wessler.
Issa would like to make the location a 50-seat restaurant.
Issa, co-founder of Global Educational Excellence that oversees some charter schools in Washtenaw County, also co-founded the Ahmo's chain, which now includes three restaurants in Ann Arbor and one in Adrian.
Issa could not be reached for comment.
The 2,780-square-foot building at 1425 Washtenaw Ave. is on the southeast corner of Washtenaw Avenue and Owendale Street, and sits on about .34 acres of land.
The building's assessed value is $90,300, making its market value $180,600. Robert Pinter purchased the building in 1991 for $217,000 from Gary Miano.
Wessler said the planning commission typically doesn't approve a site plan that has so many recommendations to consider, but the commission is confident the conditions can be worked out.
The commission wants Issa to add bicycle parking, remove the curb cut on Owendale and replace it with a barrier curb and include more landscaping as part of the project, as well as other engineering changes.
"If there's something we can't work out together, we can go back to the planning commission," Wessler said.
Wessler said Issa will go before the zoning board of appeals on March 27, when it will consider his request for an outdoor cafe. Issa needs permission from the board to operate the cafe within less than the required 50-foot distance of a residential district.
Katrease Stafford covers Ypsilanti for AnnArbor.com.Reach her at katreasestafford@annarbor.com or 734-623-2548 and follow her on twitter.
Comments
Catherine Wright
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 12:47 p.m.
I love Ahmo's!!!! I usually go to the Stone School location and have NO complaints what so ever! Marinated Chicken Plate is my favorite! Oh and hummus. And lentil soup. And fatoush. Oh and their shakes.........now I'm starving!!!
Denise Anderson
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 4:43 a.m.
So, from the header on Facebook for this article, what IS the proper way to say 'gyro'? I've been saying year-oh as do several other people I know. But though I think it's correct, I don't know for sure. And I'm glad Ahmo's is coming to Ypsi. I've never been to any other locations but I do like gyros, so I'll give this place a try after it's open. Hopefully it won't be too long of a wait.
roadsidedinerlover
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 5:32 a.m.
My brother who learned how to speak Greek says "YEA (as in year~no R)RO". I went to Ahmo's before it had food and they charged me tax on a bottle of water. I argued with them to no avail....They got really rude about it. They have been off my list for years!
Life in Ypsi
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 2:59 a.m.
The location on Stone School and Ellsworth has excellent food and service.
Ben Petiprin
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 8:49 p.m.
Best gyros in the county.
TheGospel
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 8:48 p.m.
Best Garlic sauce ever! I put it on everything.
treetowncartel
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 8:28 p.m.
Is the outdoor seating going between the dry cleaner and the restaurant?
Mercutio
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 8:12 p.m.
Cool! I saw that vacant and thought it would be a great place for a coffee shop (one that actually has parking), but I love Ahmo's, this will be great!
Ignatz
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 8:06 p.m.
Very cool! A quality establishment opening in that location is a plus for everyone.
Andy Frazier
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 8:04 p.m.
We absolutely LOVE Ahmo's and eat at the Ellsworth/Stone School location at least once a week, despite living in Ypsi. It'll be so AWESOME to have one closer to us!
Ann English
Fri, May 17, 2013 : 10:51 p.m.
I had no idea that there was more than ONE Ahmo's; I only know about the one on Dexter and Maple. I've never noticed the Pinter's Flowers in Ypsi, just the one in Ann Arbor and the one in Canton. The Ahmo's you refer to must be in Stone Plaza. An Ahmo's at Owendale and Washtenaw is sure to be noticed by those of us who buy gasoline nearby regularly.
Katrease Stafford
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 8:03 p.m.
I've never been to Ahmo's before, but I'll have to check out the Ypsilanti location! What's the best thing on the menu for a first-timer to try?
AdmiralMoose
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 11:16 a.m.
They serve one of my favorite reuben sandwiches in the area.
Narnia
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 3:14 a.m.
Chicken Swarma sandwich or Chicken kabob sandwich. The daily combo is great food at a good price.
Frustrated in A2
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 1:54 a.m.
The marinaded chicken plate is delicious and healthy!!!
Lizzy Alfs
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 10:29 p.m.
I like the falafel sandwichces, too.
fjord
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 10:06 p.m.
My opinion ... start with the basics: the plain ol' gyros. The best way to do this is to order the #1 combo, which is just a gyros sandwich, fries, and a fountain drink. The yogurt sauce is an important part of the sandwich — don't ignore it. And I usually like a bit of ketchup with those fries, but they're certainly good enough to eat on their own.
Elijah Shalis
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 7:59 p.m.
Ahmos has good food but the customer service could use some work.
Ann English
Fri, May 17, 2013 : 11:01 p.m.
Billy, I hope those employees didn't learn to be arrogant as a result of attending EMU; this new Ahmo's is right in the vicinity of EMU. It sounds like Ahmo's locates within walking distance of residential areas, whether owned or rented. Hopefully good service at this new Ahmo's will positively affect the work attitudes of the EMU students who will go there to eat.
Youwhine
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 3:43 p.m.
Billy, what is weird is that Ali Baba is owned by the same family...
treetowncartel
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 : 1:52 a.m.
Only Davey can act like that and get away with it. Long live the blimpy burger!
Billy
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 10:15 p.m.
Never been to a place of business in my life where they speak down to customers and insult them to their faces if they think they're "too stupid" to catch what they're doing. Very first time I went into the division location...at least 10 years ago I'd say...the "kid" behind the counter spoke down to me, and when I didn't react to his completely unprovoked snide remark he continued to speak to me like I was retarded and then laugh about it. 100% bully behavior...I felt so embarrassed for him, it was that bad. Now the food WAS good, and I let it slide because one employee shouldn't ruin the reputation of a business. But over the years I ordered food from them less and less because of how insanely rude they became. It wasn't just a one time thing...and it certainly wasn't just one employee. I'd say the feeling I always got from them the last few times I walked into one of their shops of supreme arrogance....like "why is this person in my shop?" It was almost like they didn't want to take your order. You could walk in and stand at the counter and they would outright LOOK at you...make eye contact, and then casually go back to their conversation with someone else and ignore you for a minute or two. And it's not just me, it's multiple people I know who have ordered from them...and they all say the same thing. They get treated exceptionally rude by them for no apparent reason. That said...none of us order from them anymore. Anyway, Ali Baba has WAY better food quality and toom (that garlic paste everyone loves so much).
fjord
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 7:58 p.m.
I crave the #1 combo almost constantly. Great gyros, great fries.
treetowncartel
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 8:30 p.m.
No Pepsi! Coke
tdw
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 8:03 p.m.
Off the cone gyro , fries and Pepsi ( or Coke ) ummm........
Andrew Kerr
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 7:30 p.m.
I hope they finder better employees than the division location. I certainly won't ever be visiting. Plus they're one of those locations that offered a restaurant.com coupon and then refused to honor it.
Useless
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 8:43 p.m.
I agree Andrew, I have had nothing but bad experiences with their Division location.
KWaugh
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 7:29 p.m.
Yay!!! So happy to see this!
John
Thu, Mar 21, 2013 : 7:07 p.m.
Awesome! Good luck!