It’s Greek to Me: Serving Up Greek Food, Tradition Since 1985

The restaurant in 1985 opened its first location with a small, mostly take-out place on Anderson Avenue in Cliffside Park, run by brothers Stacy and Jimmy Papavasiliou. The varied food items were simple and few.

The brothers needed additional space, so in 1989, the idea blossomed to open a restaurant in Fort Lee when, at the same time, they expanded the menu. In 2009 they moved across the street to 1611 Palisade Ave., where the restaurant can currently be found.

Tony Papavasiliou, Stacy’s son, oversees the Fort Lee branch and describes the location as "a constant flow of customers," keeping both Tony and his father very busy. Jimmy Papavasiliou affords his time to It’s Greek to Me in Englewood.

Tony explained, “My grandmother taught my Uncle Jimmy everything in the kitchen. She was so involved until the early 90s when she started to wear down. She passed down her  recipes and taught my uncle how to prepare each and every item on our menu. My uncle had mastered her recipes to the point where it was nearly impossible to differentiate between his and hers. My father, uncle and grandmother are the foundation - without them we wouldn’t be here.”

Tony said the motivation is "just there."

"It comes from the tradition and the customers," he said. "We are people pleasers, our customers love us and have helped us continue throughout the years. Loyalty serves loyalty.”

Tony is very positive and patient when it comes to the subject of the economy.

“Even though the economy has caused people to be more cautious about the way they are spending money and has caused a decrease in business, our prices are low and there is value in our dishes," he said. "The thing that has hurt us most is the cost of goods. The cost gets so high, in the end, it comes out of our pockets. We can’t continue to increase the cost on the menu as we don’t want to pass the costs onto our customers.”

Jimmy, Stacy and Tony spend lots of time together and maintain a constant struggle to keep business business and family family, as family members do.

“It’s difficult as family members to always be together," Tony said.

Looking toward the future, Tony said, “The hope is that there is an It’s Greek To Me in every major city one day.”

Coming from such a strong foundation, Tony’s advice to other restaurant owners is this: “Always give your customer fresh product, generous portions, good quality, good service and no matter what, your customer base will continue.”

On the subject of the neighborhood, Tony said, “Our menu is very diverse and can accommodate vegetarians, meat lovers, all eating preferences, you name it, you’ll find something on our menu. If you don’t, we’ll make it for you, we try to make what we can according to specific tastes.”

The business thrives in part because of the menu that starts with appetizers, sides and salads, and goes to pizzas, souvlaki, traditional dishes, grilled food and seafood, as well as a whole fish selection. Lunch specials range from spinach pie with Greek salad and stuffed pepper or tomato with Greek salad, to lamb Kokinisto, sauteed fish and grilled calamari just to name a few in keeping with the Greek tradition.
                                   
“With 16 employees,” said Tony, “I  keep It’s Greek to Me tops.”

In the morning all employees make sure the place is spotless for their first customers, who walked in on the day Patch was visiting at 11 a.m. The cooking area is scrubbed and every other aspect shines.

Manager for 25 years Anastasios keeps the order and timeliness of seating and sees that good service is provided and the atmosphere stays completely "Greek."

It’s Greek to Me provides take-out service and can be reached by calling 201-947-2050.