In brutal time for restaurants, Houston newcomers push ahead with \u2018wacky confidence\u2019<\/a><\/p>\nIt’s been a long time coming for Yuma, which held its first pop-up in late 2023. The couple\u00a0replaced Ninja Ramen’s grungy aesthetic with neutral tones, tropical greenery and artwork from Brazil and Cuba that ties together the intimate, 1,400-square-foot restaurant.<\/p>\n
The team is also paying homage to the building’s past life with the return of Ninja Ramen’s popular Monday karaoke and industry night.<\/p>\n
Michael Hartley and Miriam Leek-Meira officially open their Cuban-Brazilian sandwich restaurant on Friday.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio, Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Hartley and Leek-Meira met while working at Brasserie 19, where Hartley served as executive sous chef. They later left the River Oaks restaurant to help open a downtown bar before launching MMH Provisions, a microbakery, in 2021. The business specialized in bread sold at farmers markets.<\/p>\n
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The couple began making Cuban bread \u2014 a baguette-like loaf \u2014 after a friend requested it. When the first batch came out of the oven, Leek-Meira was struck by how much it smelled like the bread she remembered from spending summers in Brazil as a child. Both Cuban and Brazilian breads are traditionally made with lard rather than butter or oil.<\/p>\n
As she dug deeper, Leek-Meira found similarities between Cuban and Brazilian cooking traditions. The same friend who requested the bread later suggested opening a Cuban sanduicheira, planting the seed for what would become Yuma. The concept eventually evolved into a sandwich menu inspired by the global flavors that define Houston.<\/p>\n
The pair retired MMH Provisions in February 2025 to focus fully on Yuma, which by then was popping up several times a week at bars and farmers markets. Hartley leads the kitchen, baking the bread for every sandwich served.<\/p>\n
“The intention was never to open a brick-and-mortar bakery. We wanted an awesome restaurant that has a really great bread program,” Hartley said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A selection of sandwiches, small plates and drinks from Yuma, a Brazilian and Cuban sandwich restaurant opening Friday.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle![\"A]()
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A Cubano sandwich at\u00a0Yuma in Houston.<\/p>\n
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Tostones served with a side of sofrito sauce at\u00a0Yuma in Houston.<\/p>\n
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Croquetas filled with ham and Gruy\u00e8re cheese at Yuma in Houston.<\/p>\n
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The El Penny sandwich, inspired by Cuban and Vietnamese flavors at Yuma.<\/p>\n
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P\u00e3o de queijo, Brazilian cheese rolls at Yuma.<\/p>\n
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The Vice Presidente cocktail at Yuma.<\/p>\n
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The Guava Aperol Spritz, a nonalcoholic cocktail, is photographed at Yuma.<\/p>\n
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Yuma’s Guanabana Caipi, is a nonalcoholic caipirinha made with\u00a0guanabana syrup, lime juice and coconut water.<\/p>\n
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Michael Hartley and Miriam Leek-Meira, owners of Yuma, a Brazilian and Cuban sandwich restaurant opening its first brick-and-mortar location later this month, are photographed inside the restaurant in Houston, Thursday, June 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
The classic Cubano, made with roasted pork, ham, gruyere, pickles and mustard, is Yuma’s best-seller. Other sandwiches include the caipira, a Brazilian-inspired cheesesteak; El Jard\u00edn, a hearty vegan sandwich with tostones, sofrito, mustard greens and black bean pur\u00e9e; El Penny Cubano Banh Mi,\u00a0a chicken sandwich; and a newly added fish sando.<\/p>\n
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New for the former pop-up is a full bar. Bar bites include Brazilian-inspired items such as p\u00e3o de queijo, or Brazilian cheese rolls, and pastel de bife, Brazilian beef empanadas. Desserts include rotating flavors of brigadeiros, a Brazilian confection.<\/p>\n
“Houston’s got a really great culinary scene, but I feel like what we’re doing something that doesn’t exist,” Hartley said.<\/p>\n
The drink menu was developed in consultation with Jamie Diaz of Nancy’s Hustle, with an emphasis on cacha\u00e7a, a Brazilian spirit made from sugarcane, and rum. The team is aiming to build the largest cacha\u00e7a collection in Houston. Signature drinks include the Lime Caipirinha, a nod to Brazil’s classic cocktail; the Passionfruit Cloud, made with cacha\u00e7a, passionfruit and honey; and the Toasted Caju, an old fashioned with clarified cashew milk. The wine list will focus on smaller labels and natural wines.<\/p>\n
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The Passionfruit Cloud cocktail at Yuma has\u00a0cachaca, passionfruit and honey.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
The Yuma owners also put just as much effort into making a menu of zero-proof cocktails, with options such as a guava Aperol spritz\u00a0and Guarana libre, a twist on a Cuba libre that uses Brazilian soda. Leek-Meira is making her own nonalcoholic rum. There will also be NA wines and beer.<\/p>\n
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“This could be equally considered a non-alcoholic bar, just as much as an alcoholic bar,” Leek-Meira said.<\/p>\n
Yuma’s normal operating hours will be 4 p.m. to midnight Wednesday through Monday. It plans to offer lunch service and a late-night to-go window\u00a0in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The exterior of Yuma, a Brazilian and Cuban sandwich restaurant opening its first brick-and-mortar location on Friday.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yuma is opening on Friday, serving Cubano sandwiches and more.\u00a0 Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle A sandwich pop-up that built…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57],"class_list":["post-347168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}