Canadian, Mediterranean fusion restaurant My-O-My opens second location on Telegraph due to popular demand | City

Serving customers 15 hours a day every day, from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.,  Northside’s favorite Canadian shawarma joint, My-O-My, opened its second location last Saturday. 

My-O-My is bringing its iconic red and white decor and energetic atmosphere to Telegraph Avenue at the request of many students, according to CEO of My-O-My Shawarma Abdul Wahid Ahmadi.

“A lot of students were asking me, ‘Please open one in Southside,’ because (there is) nothing good in that area,” Ahmadi said. “So that made me open in Southside.”

My-O-My, which prides itself on serving Canadian-inspired Mediterranean halal food, first opened in 2023 at its original location on Northside on Euclid Avenue.  

“I made a (chicken wrap) for my son … he really liked it … and then he said, ‘Dad, I think we should open a restaurant.’ So that’s how we started,” Ahmadi said as he explained why he created the restaurant.

Ahmadi said he fled Afghanistan 47 years ago at the age of 9, when the Soviet Union invaded the country. He moved to the U.S. in 1992 after living as a refugee in Pakistan for 14 years. In the United States, Ahmadi had to keep many different jobs to make a living.

“My first job (in America) was at a car wash,” Ahmadi said. “Then I was an assistant manager at a convenience store — I worked there for eight years. After that, I worked for Coca-Cola as a sales rep for seven years.”

However, his journey took a different turn when he returned to Afghanistan, this time working as a linguist for the United States military. There, he was able to gain experience and learn from soldiers. 

After coming back from Afghanistan, Ahmadi made his first venture into the restaurant business, opening Chopan Kabob in Concord and San Ramon. But business in Berkeley is better, according to Ahmadi, which is what drove him to open the first My-O-My here.

The Telegraph location is not the end of expansion for My-O-My, Ahmadi said, adding that he “definitely” wants to keep growing his business.

“I think my goal is to open at least two or three more restaurants,” Ahmadi said. “My next move will probably be by Stanford University.”

For the new location at the intersection of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street, Ahmadi said he hopes to hold a grand opening event sometime next week once the front door sign arrives.