Josi and Zamir Jahic are opening a restaurant, J’s Pitaria (5003 Gravois), serving traditional Bosnian food in the Bevo Mill neighborhood—an area with a significant Bosnian immigrant population—but they hope their main dish, pita, attracts a wider clientele.
In fact, Josi says she spent time searching online for the average age and salary of residents in that part of south St. Louis and determined that the restaurant could attract “people who eat most of their meals out,” she says.
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Pita is a pastry made from phyllo dough that is stretched, rolled by hand, and filled with savory or sweet ingredients, Josi says. The restaurant, which Josi describes as Mediterranean fast food and plans to open Saturday, May 27, will offer six types of pita. In the savory category: cheese, cheese and spinach, potato, or meat. And on the sweet side: apple or Nutella.
“It can be eaten cold; it can be eaten warm,” says Josi, who also works as a human resources manager at a law firm. “And it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.”
Josi and Zamir are both from Bosnia and left the country during the war in the 1990s. The former went to Germany and the latter to Norway, but both ended up in St. Louis, which is where they met. Zamir previously had a coffee shop, Cafe Korzo, which is now under different ownership, and a nightclub, Aquarius, which closed in 2003.
“When we go back and visit, even our family says, ‘Oh, you are so American,’” Josi says.
She hopes customers develop a connection to their Bosnian food the same way she developed a connection to her adoptive country.
In addition to the pita, the restaurant, which will seat about 35, will also offer paninis; doner kebab; ustipci, which are fried dough balls; and arjan, a yogurt drink made with sea salt.
“When it’s summer, in the heat, it gives you the hydration you need,” Josi says.
She says that many Americans “are already familiar with pita” and other Bosnian dishes, and there are also many Bosnians in St. Louis to support the restaurant. According to some estimates, St. Louis has more Bosnians per capita than anywhere in the world outside of Bosnia.
Tomorrow, the Grbic family, owners of the namesake Bosnian restaurant, are reopening Lemmons, a former southside classic, as Lemmons by Grbic, which will offer “American food with a Balkan fusion,” says executive chef Senada Grbic. Lemmons is located a few blocks west on Gravois.
A stone’s throw away from J’s, the new owners of Das Bevo, formerly known as the Bevo Mill, recently completed a $1.5-million renovation and opened earlier this month.
Josi followed the news about the historic restaurant and thought “who would be stupid enough to spend so much money if they didn’t think” business in the area “was going to start picking up again.”
Everything at the restaurant will be under $10, Josi says. The savory pita will sell for $6.99 per pound and the sweet for $7.99. The yogurt drink will cost $2.99.
