Ones to Watch
Posted by estiator at 11 June, at 10 : 51 AM Print
COVER STORY
Meet the leaders mapping our industry’s future.
By Michael Kaminer
Despite the pandemic and troubled global situations, this is turning out to be an incredible year for Greek cuisine and the people behind it. Restaurants are opening at a record pace again. Awareness keeps growing as Greek food continues mainstreaming. And our cuisine has never felt more on-trend as diners embrace healthier habits.
With this bright future in mind, Estiator is proud to present our inaugural “Ones to Watch” list. We’ve spoken to restaurateurs, executives, and other industry sources to identify leaders shaping the future of our industry, each in their own way. Some work locally; others have built national profiles. We’re proud to spot-light them here.
Andreas Koutsoudakis
OWNER, MARATHI, marathinyc.com
FOUNDING PARTNER, KI LEGAL, kilegal.com
NEW YORK
Andreas Koutsoudakis is a familiar face to Estiator readers—and to New Yorkers. For one, he’s a tireless advocate for restaurant owners, speaking out against high third-party delivery fees and supporting estiators through the challenges of the last two years. For another, he owns Marathi, a distinctive Cretan restaurant in Manhattan’s Tribeca whose brilliant menu shines as brightly as its airy, high-ceilinged room. It’s the reincarnation of Tribeca’s Kitchen, the New York institution founded by his late father, Andy Koutsoudakis, Sr., an unofficial mayor of downtown New York. And as an attorney, his civil rights and employment law defense experience includes the representation of individuals and businesses subject to government audits or investigations by the U.S. Dept. of Labor Wage & Hour Division, the New York State Department of Labor, the New York State Division of Human Rights, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Drake Behrakis
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, NATIONAL HELLENIC SOCIETY PRESIDENT, MARWICK ASSOCIATES, LEXINGTON, MA
nationalhellenicsociety.org
When the University of Nevada launched the nation’s only stand-alone program on Greek cuisine last November, Drake Behrakis stood onstage with celebrity chef Diane Kochilas and college dean Stowe Shoemaker. As chair of the board of trustees of the National Hellenic Society, which celebrates Greek heritage, Behrakis led the initiative for the program; the university will work with NHS to bring chefs, culinarians, and experts to share insights with students on Greek diet, culture, traditions, and life-style. The food initiative was just one way the successful real estate entrepreneur gives back. He also serves on the board of directors for The Hellenic Initiative, Boston College, the American College of Greece, Hellenic College/Holy Cross, Del-phi Economic Forum and The Leadership 100 Endowment Fund.
Ahmet Erkaya and Anastasia Koutsioukis
CO-OWNERS MANDOLIN AEGEAN BISTRO, MIAMI; MANDOLIN TAVERNA, LOS ANGELES
mandolinmiami.com
By restoring a 1940s house near the city’s Design District, this power couple created one of Miami’s best-loved restaurants—and one of the city’s hardest reservations. Its formula of Greek and Turkish small plates has become such a smash hit that Erkaya and Koutsioukis just opened a Mandolin sibling in downtown Los Angeles. Mandolin Taverna is inside the hipper-than-hip Soho Ware-house, part of the Soho House private-club empire. Thrillist called Mandolin Bistro “one of the most transportive Miami restaurants… The charming, string-light-strewn alfresco courtyard restaurant no doubt worked its way into your heart with its family-style approach to Mediterranean cuisine, serving up various Greek, Turkish and Cypriot delicacies.” We predict a big year for Mandolin’s founders.
Valentine Howell
EXECUTIVE CHEF
Evan Turner
WINE DIRECTOR KRASI MEZE & WINE, BOSTON
krasiboston.com
Time Out Boston readers picked Krasi as their favorite restaurant of 2021. Along with co-owner Demetri Tsolakis, credit must go to the dynamic duo behind the food and wine itself. Sommelier and wine director Evan Turner is “the Greekest non-Greek you will ever meet,” Tsolakis tells Estiator. “His knowledge and passion about Greek wine excel even those who make it for a living. When I met Evan I knew we had to pursue a concept involving Greek wine. He is a walking encyclopedia and enjoys sharing this knowledge. He has been Greek wine’s number-one hype man. And now Krasi Meze & Wine has the largest all Greek wine list in the entire country.”
Executive Chef Valentine Howell “brings the warmest and most passionate spirit to the open kitchen at Krasi, where he tirelessly delivers on his promise to give guests a chance to experience Greece differently,” Tsolakis enthuses. Chef Valentine has created a menu that explores the lesser known regions of Greece, and while everyone loves souvla and tzatziki, his take on rustic dishes from small towns and villages throughout Greece is truly exceptional. Valentine’s Jamaican and Italian heritage also bring another diverse layer to his culinary philosophy, how he creates his dishes and the spirit that he brings to the kitchen every night, Tsolakis says.
Peter Parthenis Jr.
CEO GRECIAN DELIGHT FOODS AND KRONOS FOODS ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL
gdkfoods.com
Estiator readers know Grecian Delight and Kronos Foods well. Both companies helped drive demand for Greek foods in the U.S. Now a powerhouse merged company, they’re led by Peter Parthenis, Jr., whose father launched Grecian Delight nearly four decades ago. Under Parthenis, Jr.’s leadership, the companies have expanded product ranges, grown healthy and plant-based offerings, and grown to more than 350 employees. In 2020, Parthenis, Jr., partnered with a private equity firm to acquire and merge with Kronos Foods, which created a new food giant in the U.S: Grecian Delight/Kronos, as the Greek Reporter noted. “The goal is to preserve both brands, because they both have very strong recognition and great histories, but the focus moving forward is product-focused,” Parthenis, Jr., said at the time.
Spiro Pappadopoulos
CEO, SCHLOW RESTAURANT GROUP, BOSTON
schlowrg.com
As CEO of Schlow Restaurant Group, the empire founded by James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schlow, Spiro Pappadopoulos helps steer a fast-growing venture that spans quick-service, fine dining, and even food halls. Pappadopoulos was an independent restaurateur before joining Schlow Restaurant Group as director of operations New England in 2016. His management went company-wide as VP of operations in early 2017, before being promoted to CEO in 2018. “My primary focus is on finding, mentoring, rewarding, protecting, and energizing the best people in the industry,” Pappadopoulos says on his LinkedIn bio, which may be one reason why Schlow Restaurant Group has continued to thrive through the pandemic. Pappadopoulos is also an owner of popular Boston restaurants Sauce and Daxi. Bonus: He’s Michael Schlow’s brother-in-law.
Dimitri Kallianis
CHEF AND ENTREPRENEUR CHICAGO
instagram.com/dimitri_kallianis
Food Network viewers know Dimitri Kallianis as the force behind The Shanty, the cathedral-like destination restaurant in Wadsworth, IL. They may not know he’s also the brains behind Lonely Olive Tree Organics, whose Sparta-sourced products are in 6,700 stores nationwide. Or that he’s about to launch Nota Olive Oil Skin Care, made with the same top-quality oils. In the middle of it all, Kallianis is expanding The Shanty into a building he bought next door; we bet The Shanty South will become just as big a hit as its big brother. Both of Kallianis’ parents are Greek-born; “I’m a first-generation Greek-American, tying my roots to Greece,” he tells Estiator.
Nick Pihakis
CEO, PIHAKIS RESTAURANT GROUP BIRMINGHAM, AL
pihakis.com
Nick Pihakis has come a long way since he and father Jim opened the first Jim ‘N Nick’s barbecue joint 25 years ago in Birmingham. Today, Pihakis’ sprawling Alabama company is coming out of the pandemic with all engines firing. In May, it announced a partnership to redevelop the site of a former adventure park. In April, Pihakis Restaurant Group unveiled a slate of restaurants to open across Alabama and Tennessee. Among them: Tasty Town Greek Restaurant and Lounge in downtown Birmingham, with seasonal, traditional and Southern ingredients and techniques; Luca, a full-service, casual Italian eatery serving handmade pasta, brick oven pizzas, gelato, craft cocktails and Italian wines; and expansions of its popular Little Donkey, Rodney Scott’s BBQ, and Hero Doughnuts & Buns brands. One of the restaurant group’s biggest Nashville projects is slated to come in 2023, a local news site reported; Rodney Scott’s BBQ in Nashville is a partnership with country music Superstar Eric Church and hospitality entrepreneur Ben Weprin inside a massive entertainment complex.
Alex Serroukas
OWNER, THE STANDARD RESTAURANT & LOUNGE, ALBANY, NY standardalbany.com
DIRECTOR, PAN GREGORIAN ENTERPRISES OF UPPER NEW YORK pgeuny.com
Gus Serroukas was a legendary upstate New York restaurateur who passed away last year. His son Alex is doing his father’s legacy proud. His retro-cool Standard Restaurant & Lounge has become a bonafide destination spot in Albany, New York’s capital. Serroukas and his extended family also own a network of diners in the Hudson Valley, and Serroukas him-self serves as a director of Pan Gregorian Enterprises of Upper New York, one of the nation’s leading restaurant purchasing co-ops. “I always tell people that I was raised by a wild pack of waitresses and line cooks,” Serroukas told Hudson Valley Magazine a few years ago. “My father and uncle heavily involved me and my brothers and cousins in the business, and we really learned a lot from them.” Busier than ever post Covid, the Standard continues to wow diners. “The atmosphere is old Holly-wood and the food was delicious,” raved a Tripadvisor fan.
Avgeria Stapaki
EXECUTIVE CHEF AND PARTNER, NISOSCHICAGO
nisosmediterranean.com
Avgeria Stapaki moved to Chicago from Athens in 2020. It didn’t take her long to become the talk of the town, helming the kitchen in ambitious, 9,000-square-foot Mediterranean eatery Nisos, set to open this summer. Owner Brad Parker told Eater he met Stapaki in Mykonos, where she was executive chef at Principote Mykonos, a beach club that could seat 700. Parker was impressed by the quality of her cooking, but he was even more impressed by the quantity: “She did 2,400 covers in a five-hour time period,” he told Eater. “Over four months, she did 34 million Euros in business. She delivered the same quality as a 30-seat restaurant. She’s a rock star.”
Paul Tsiknakis
OWNER, MARBLEHEAD CHOWDER HOUSE, EASTON, PA marbleheadchowderhouse.com
MONARCH DINER, GLASSBORO, NJ monarchdinernj.com
RED LION DINER, SOUTHAMPTON, NJ redlionnj.com
Paul Tsiknakis comes from “a family with a long history of inspiring devotion in others and successful entrepreneurship,” according to a recent newspaper profile. “I come from a restaurant family,” Tsiknakis tells Estiator. “My father was a pastry chef for 30 years. And my whole extended family—uncles, aunts, everyone—have been in the restaurant business since they migrated to the US.” The son of a Cretan father and a Greek-American mother, Tsiknakis has tapped his estiator DNA to run a group of hugely popular, and highly regarded, restaurants in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. “We try to make our diners unique—a ‘finer diner.’ We know our clients well, and we know what they want to eat. We give back to the community. We care about employees. And we’re not afraid to be creative and take risks,” he says. Mean-while, Tsiknakis plans to expand Marblehead Chowder House with a new location every year. “Our Greek background has a lot to do with our motivation to do well,” he says. “Greek culture is a big part of who we are.”
Ari Ziogas
OPERATING PARTNER AND DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL INITIATIVES showmars.com
Matthew Zitsos
OPERATOR AND PURCHASING DIRECTOR SHOWMARS
A leading Greek quick-service brand, Showmars now boasts 33 locations and nearly 1,000 employees across the Carolinas. A 20-year veteran of the restaurant business, Ari Ziogas has been with Showmars for a decade. As director of digital initiatives, he leads the company’s digital strategy from online ordering and mobile app/ pay to its loyalty program. “My heart is and has always been in the restaurant business. That said my greatest sense of pride in working with Showmars comes from the relationships our staff creates with customers and the community as a whole,” he says.
With technology driving the restaurant industry, “Showmars depends on Ziogas’s knowledge and creativity to ensure the company stays ahead of the constantly evolving digital arena,” a spokes-person says. During the pandemic, Ziogas’s expertise was essential to Showmars’ ability to pivot operations within a matter of weeks— focusing on digital capabilities through its online ordering and app to ensure Showmars could serve customers during a very uncertain time.
Matthew Zitsos has been with Showmars for more than five years, serving as an operator and Show-mars purchasing director. “I love working for Showmars and being able to represent my family’s Greek heritage and culinary craft. Our culture is known for its commitment to local communities through cuisine, and this is something that Show-mars takes to heart,” he says. Navigating supply chain issues over the past 12 to 18 months has been one of our industry’s biggest challenges; Zitsos has been a leader in this area, steering the Showmars team through shortages, price hikes, and more. “We lean on Matthew’s knowledge, expertise and relationships to continue to guide us through this territory,” a spokesperson says.
During the pandemic, Zitsos also helped lead the company’s Grocery Essentials Program, which allowed Showmars to sell and deliver essential products, like chicken, paper towels, milk, etc., to the immune compromised, elderly and families. “Matthew saw that our supplier was inundated with product due to restaurant closures and helped find a way to not only alleviate that problem but serve our customers in a new way, while also creating an additional revenue stream for Showmars,” the spokesperson says.
