New Arrivals – December 2020
Posted by estiator at 13 December, at 07 : 22 AM Print
A coast-to coast glance at some of the industry’s newest additions
Merrifield, Virginia
OUR MOM EUGENIA
ourmomeugenia.com
“Mom” is Zakynthos native Eugenia Markesini Hobson, who opened the original Our Mom Eugenia in 2016 in Great Falls, VA. In the midst of the pandemic this summer, Hobson and sons Alex and Phil opened a second location, in Merrifield’s Mosaic District. A veteran chef and winner of multiple local “best of” awards, Hobson fills her menus with hearty, traditional dishes like tzatziki, melitzanosalata, tirokafteri, and keftedakia, along with plenty of vegetable-forward selections. Though business has been tough, the restaurant has risen to the challenge with innovations like a membership program with discounts for loyal patrons. “I’m very happy to be able to be here and work, for the family and for my two boys…We’re trying to get back to normal. But what is normal, anymore?” Hobson told a local newspaper. Mom and sons plan to open a third Our Mom Eugenia in 2021.
La Jolla, California
SPIRO’S MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE
spiroscuisine.com
After rebranding his original Spiro’s Greek Café— a local fixture for 25 years— Spiro Chaconas opened this second location of Spiro’s Mediterranean Cuisine in October. Along with traditional Greek favorites like gyros, pastitsio, and spanakopita, Spiro’s now features Mediterraneanaccented plates like grilled salmon, homemade falafel, and a hummus platter with feta. Greek wines and Mythos beer round out the menu, which also boasts sweets like baklava, kourambiethes, and rice pudding. His success makes it hard to believe that food is Chaconas’ second career. He opened his first restaurant, Spiro’s Gyros, in Coronado, CA, after retiring as founding chair of UCLA’s orthodontic department in 1995. Chaconas’ ancestors hailed from Tsakonia, a mountain village near Sparta; his father, uncle, and grandmother arrived in the U.S. in 1914.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
AL FORNO
alfornobethlehem.com
Born in Greece, Vivi Christogianni grew up in the restaurant business; her father owned six Western Pennsylvania eateries, and still operates a local diner. Now Christogianni and husband Aaron Kochmeier are striking out on their own. Al Forno opened September 7 in Bethlehem, PA, and instantly gained notoriety for over-the-top, Instagram-friendly pizzas like pickles-garlic-cheese, mashed-potato, and even Greek—white sauce with gyro meat, tomatoes, onions, feta, black olives, and cheese. “We’re kind of pizza fanatics,” Christogianni told the Allentown Morning Call. “Here, we’re doing pan-style, which is not very common in the Lehigh Valley.” Fried calamari, mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, and subs round out the menu, which gets punctuated by dessert pizzas like s’mores and an apple-pie version with baked apples, brown sugar, caramel, and icing drizzle.
