Sami Jodeh owns Flames Mediterranean & Grill, at 546 South Highland Street near University of Memphis. He opened his second location January 31st at 698 Waring Road.
Jodeh, 31, remembers when he worked at two restaurants at the same time. He worked the morning shift at McDonald’s, but, because he didn’t have a ride back to his house for a few hours, he got a job working the night shift at Burger King.
Jodeh surprised customers who saw him when they ate breakfast at McDonald’s and then saw him again when they ate dinner at Burger King. The restaurants were across the street from each other.
Working those jobs sparked his interest in opening his own restaurant one day. “I enjoyed doing it,” Jodeh says. “I just feel like you don’t have to worry about anything but cooking. It takes me to a different zone. I love seeing people’s smiling faces and them complimenting me on how good my food is.”
Growing up in Amman, Jordan, Jodeh was surrounded by family members who cooked. “Most of them worked in the restaurant business. Some servers, some chefs.”
Jodeh was more into sports than cooking. “I’m a professional soccer player. I played all my life, even when I came to Memphis.”
His family moved to Memphis when he was 16. “I cried for the first few days. I wanted to go back. The language was pretty tough.”
After two years in the fast food business, Jodeh said, “I will have my own restaurant. This is what I love doing.”
In 2009, Jodeh “went straight into the business.” He worked for a Mediterranean-style restaurant, which was owned by family members. “They were doing the cooking and I was doing the service and helping with the cooking.”
He worked at various locations of Shark’s Fish & Chicken before taking a job as chef at a Middle Eastern grill in Jacksonville, Florida, where he created some of the dishes he now sells at his Memphis restaurants.
One of them, the Toshka, is a mixture of lamb and beef. Jodeh adds bell pepper, onions, jalapeños, and garlic. “You fry the meat as a burger,” he says. “Mix it with mozzarella cheese, put it on a slice of pita bread, and toast it. It’s like a Middle Eastern burger.”
When he was 26, Jodeh picked up the lease on a gas station/restaurant in Earle, Arkansas. “I had the fried food, but also added chicken shawarma and a few other things. I introduced Middle Eastern food to Earle, Arkansas, and people were just amazed: ‘What is this?’ I had peach cobbler on one side and chicken shawarma on the other side.”
In 2019, Jodeh opened his Highland location of Flames Mediterranean & Grill, where he serves “authentic Jordanian food.”
“I wanted people — as soon as you say ‘Flames’ — to say, ‘Oh, you have the best food. And freshest and healthiest food.’”
The Tikka is one of the most popular items on his 40-plus-item menu. “It’s a half chicken grilled on a char grill. It can be spicy or not spicy. It’s marinated overnight. It comes on a bowl of rice with a side of Greek salad, pita bread, and tzatziki sauce.”
Jodeh wants to open 50 restaurants — one in each state — with his “type of food … something like I would serve in Jordan.”
He plans to add a new item to the menu at his Waring restaurant. “What got me interested in this location is the huge smoker. I’m going to try to bring Middle Eastern barbecue to Memphis.”
Jodeh will add Middle Eastern spices and seasonings to a whole lamb, which he will put in the smoker. Customers can choose the part of the lamb they prefer. “The way it’s going to be cooked is different,” he says. “The marinade is different. I’ll make customers feel like they’re having that barbecued lamb in a desert or somewhere in Jordan.”
