A person is celebrating the success of his small restaurant after opening for the tenth summer season in a row — in his yard.
Panikos Panayiotou, 44, is a father of three from Walsall, England, who runs and operates a Greek restaurant out of a semi-detached construction in his yard.
The sports activities improvement supervisor by day opened Lakis Greek Kitchen in 2014 — an concept that originated from his late father, Lakis Panayiotou.
The elder man was within the means of constructing his personal yard Greek restaurant when he handed away as a consequence of small cell lung most cancers in 2012, in accordance with SWNS.
Panayiotou advised Fox Information Digital that to honor his father and his Greek heritage, he determined he would make this occur himself. It took 5 months, he stated through electronic mail.
“I built it in memory of my father, who passed away from cancer. He tried to start it — [but he] built half a restaurant in his garden [and then] passed away before it could be finished,” he additionally stated to SWNS.
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He added, “My father always wanted to run a traditional Greek taverna from his home, and so it’s a way of keeping his memory alive and raising much-needed money for charity.”
He advised Fox Information Digital that what makes the restaurant particular to him is “the ability to serve people through the love of food in memory of my father and to help local people in need.”
For the reason that begin, the Panayiotous have donated almost $70,000 to native charities.
Panayiotou retains the restaurant — which may maintain about 75 clients — open for six weeks every year.
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He and his spouse, Michelle, volunteer their time and efforts to organize for the gang whereas a volunteer chef from an area resort is available in to cook dinner the meals.
Panayiotou additionally advised Fox Information Digital that his three youngsters, ages 13, 12, and eight, additionally assist out on the restaurant.
“My daughter is in the kitchen. My boys run an LGK (Lakis Greek Kitchen) shop, which sells Greek oil, olives and other produce that helps with our fundraising,” he stated.
Their signature dish is lamb kleftiko.
Moreover, his youngsters additionally assist with prep and serving the purchasers.
Their signature dish is a lamb kleftiko dish. The marinated lamb and potatoes are slowly cooked for 8 to 12 hours, in accordance with SWNS.
The restaurant additionally serves desserts comparable to baklava, coconut cake and a Greek chocolate rock cake known as Doukissa.
Panayiotou advised SWNS that the restaurant opens its reservations two months upfront and inside just a few hours, the tables are about 80% full.
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“We try and cater for walk-ins, too [and] we can end up with people all over the back garden,” he stated.
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Panayiotou stated that fortunately his neighbors don’t thoughts the massive crowds — and that some guests even come from the USA to go to the distinctive restaurant.
“Our traditions are to have a relationship with your loved ones in the afterlife, so you do good deeds in memory of them,” he advised SWNS.
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He added, “And this is what we do here every year. This is for him.”