Jackson Free Press

Flowood residents Jordan and Paul Yamas opened a second location for their restaurant, The Hungry Goat, in Fondren (2939 Old Canton Road) on Monday, Jan. 27.

The original Hungry Goat opened in Flowood (671 Grants Ferry Road, Suite A2, Flowood) in January 2019. The restaurant does not have seating inside, offering only carryout and catering. The Fondren location is what Jordan Yamas refers to as a "retail site." The restaurant contains coolers and freezers for carryout items shipped from the Flowood restaurant. The Fondren Hungry Goat does not have its own kitchen, but all menu items and sizes from the Flowood Hungry Goat are available for purchase. All food is available on a first-come, first-served basis only.

"Our restaurant's name come from our four kids, who are always hungry," Jordan Yamas told the Jackson Free Press. "For years we wished there was a place like this where we could come in and grab a home-cooked meal without the expense or lines of a restaurant. The goal of The Hungry Goat is to take the chores out of dinner and let you spend more time with your family."

The menu at The Hungry Goat includes entrees such as beef tips, poppy seed chicken, chipotle meatloaf, homemade lasagna, chicken or beef enchiladas and chicken and dumplings; sides such as loaded potato casserole, cornbread dressing, green beans, creamed spinach and country potato salad; desserts such as buttermilk chocolate cake and banana pudding and more.

Paul Yamas operated Primos Cafe on Lakeland Drive for 13 years and also ran the now-closed Que Sera Sera restaurant in Fondren. Jordan is a traveling chef who has worked at restaurants across the Southeast and was once a sous chef for Tom Ramsey, who owned the former La Finestra.

The Hungry Goat in Fondren is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 601-398-4286 or visit thehungrygoatcarryout.com.

Spell Restaurant Group Remodeling Babalu

Rick Spell and Christy Spell Terry, a father and daughter team that owns Memphis-based Spell Restaurant Group, recently announced a remodeling of the Jackson location of Babalu Tapas and Tacos (622 Duling Ave.). Spell Restaurant Group purchased the Jackson Babalu and four other Babalu locations in October 2019.

Bill Latham and Al Roberts opened the original Babalu location in Duling Hall in 2010. The other locations are in Memphis, Tenn., Knoxville, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala. Spell Restaurant Group's renovations to the restaurant will include a new private dining room and other improvements.

The Spells launched Spell Restaurant Group with the purchase of Brookhaven Pub & Grill in Memphis in 2004. SRG purchased George's, La Cocina, Saltwater Grill and La Crema Tapas & Chocolate in Florida in 2016. The Spells developed their first original concept, Grits & Grind in Seacrest Beach, Fla., in 2017 and purchased Edwards Fine Food & Wine in Rosemary Beach, Fla., that same year.

For more information about Babalu, call 601-366-5757 or visit eatbabalu.com. For information about Spell Restaurant Group, visit spellrestaurantgroup.com.

Yakiniku Grill Coming to Flowood

Yakiniku Grill (275 Dogwood Blvd., Flowood), a Korean barbecue restaurant located inside the former Mellow Mushroom in Flowood, which closed in July 2018, is set to open by early February 2020, a post on Yakiniku's Facebook page states.

The menu at Yakiniku Grill will include appetizers such as edamame, cheese wontons, fried calamari, raw oysters and Korean sushi rolls; vegetable, chicken, beef or shrimp hibachi; pork, chicken beef or shrimp sizzling plates or bibimbap; yakisoba, udon or ramen noodles; and ready-to-barbecue beef sirloin, filet mignon, short ribs, flank steak, brisket and more.

Yakiniku will also offer lunch specials Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., including Korean barbecue plates with a choice of two meats for $15 or three meats for $18, as well as hibachi lunch specials.

For more information, visit Yakiniku Grill's Facebook page here.