A Greek “Pirate” Shares His Success Story
Posted by estiator at 9 June, at 14 : 48 PM Print
After 50 years in restaurants, Theofanis Kakouras is on top of his game.
By Michael Kaminer
COVER STORY
In the 1982 epic Fitzcarraldo, Klaus Kinski drags a steamship across the jungle, losing his mind in the process. Theofanis Kakouras also brought a big boat to an unlikely place, but his story turned out differently. Pirates Landing Seafood & Steak, the ship-like restaurant he opened in the mountains of North Carolina, has been a smash hit since launching in 1996—delighting thousands of customers, earning stellar reviews, stunning newcomers, and making Kakouras a local celebrity.
“I’ve always tried to attract the whole family with themes,” says Kakouras, who also has owned Theo’s Italian Restaurant in Jonesville, North Carolina, since 1996. “The kids can be happy, and the parents can be happy. That’s a success point. When I decided to open Pirate’s Landing, I spent two years scouting the world for pirate goodies—tapestries, chests, aged wine barrels, and other artifacts. It gives the illusion you’re on a ship, and people love it. And as a proud Greek-American, of course I fly the Greek flag from the ship,” he says.
The restaurant has become a local institution in its hometown of Elkin and draws visitors from across the country, as ecstatic online reviews reveal.
Pirate’s Landing is the culmination of a lifetime’s work for Kakouras, who emigrated from Karpenissi in 1974 with his parents, Konstantinos and Golfo, and two older brothers, Panagiotis and Dimitrios. “We first landed in Pulaski, Virginia, where we had family—my mother’s sister, Mary Kokotinis. We stayed there for six months, but it was a small town. We went to Boston from there, which was nice, and stayed for a month,” he recalls.
The family finally settled in York, Pennsylvania, where Kakouras found his first job in hospitality. “I was 15, and worked for Dimos Sakarelos, who owned the Penn Supreme diner,” he says. The following year, Kakouras’ father went into business for himself, taking over the Manor Plaza diner in nearby Lancaster.
“It was my father, his parents, and his brothers. I thought, ‘Are we crazy? We don’t even know the language.’ But the community was very supportive. They were very good people. We were lucky to gain a lot of customers and make a lot of friends,” he says. “My mother was a powerhouse. And my father was one of the first cab drivers in Karpenissi, so he knew a lot of people.”
After their initial success, the family continued opening restaurants. “After Manor Plaza, we started Kakouras Fine Dining in York, and the Stone Mill Family Restaurant in Lancaster. Each brother was running a restaurant,” Kakouras says.
By 1989, an exhausted Kakouras moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. “I was a little burnt out, having been in the restaurant business from the age of 15,” he says. “Charlotte had a big Greek community from Karpenissi, we had a few friends there, and it felt like a fast-growing town.” In a career pivot, Kakouras earned his real estate license and worked in commercial and residential real estate for a year. “My background in the restaurant business let me help a lot of people. But in 1989–1990, the market hit bottom, interest rates skyrocketed, and it became hard to make a living.”
If there was a silver lining to that dark time, it was that “I realized restaurants were in my blood,” Kakouras says. “They were my life.” So in February 1991, Kakouras took over the House of Pizza in Jonesville, North Carolina, and bought Takis’ Italian Restaurant in nearby Hickory a year later. “It felt like coming home, and I was happy,” he says.
His success led to more openings. Theo’s in Santee Cooper, North Carolina, followed in 1993, along with Hillsville Family Fish House, in Hillsville, Virginia, in 1996. Theo’s Italian Restaurant opened in Jonesville, North Carolina, the same year.
But in 2003, Kakouras made a life-changing decision around an opening on a large piece of land he owned in Elkin, North Carolina. “I had this little-boy’s dream of opening a restaurant in the form of a ship. Friends tried to talk me out of it. They thought I was a little crazy—‘You’ve got enough land there to do a regular restaurant or a shopping center,’ they said. But I wanted a ship. And that’s what we built.”
Pirate’s Landing Seafood & Steakhouse was a smash from the day it opened. At 12,000 square feet, the restaurant seats 326, and he says it “overpowered me in the beginning. But with God’s help, and the determination and hard work we have as Greeks, we stuck with it, and it’s been very successful.”
Kakouras and his team take the pirate theme seriously, and the Pirate’s Landing website captures the experience: “Your voyage begins upon approaching the deck of the ship surrounded by water and fish. The outside and inside have been constructed to resemble a dry-landed ship, with 200-year-old supporting wood beams brought directly from the St. Lawrence Seaway and antique planking throughout. Not to be missed are the detailed murals of the history of piracy and of the book Treasure Island.”
A huge part of Pirates Landing’s success has been the team Kakouras has built over two decades. “I respect my employees and expect respect from them,” he says. “I remember when I worked for the Greek families in the beginning and how I was treated. I want to treat my employees the same way. Some of them have been with me for two decades, and they are the secret to my success. If they need me to work the line, I will. I’ll show them how to make a pizza. That goes a long way. It’s a team effort, from the bottom all the way up.”
Marketing has also been key to Kakouras’ business conquests. “You have to advertise. You have to spend money to make money,” he says. And at a personal level, Kakouras has always taken the time to engage with his customers. “I’m very involved with them. You’ll see me going around checking with tables, shaking hands. When I ask if everything is OK, I mean it. It comes from the heart. I want my customers to be happy,” he says.
“My parents gave me the basis for what I do now,” he continues. “My mother gave me the foundation for running a business—keeping a good head on your shoulders, treating customers right, and giving them what they want. Papa was showing me recipes, and how to go about cooking. It’s crazy that from being a cab driver, he went to become a chef and restaurateur, and passed down the legacy to us.”
Kakouras is cementing his own legacy in the towns where he operates and beyond. “Every Thanksgiving, we feed over 400 people at Theo’s, with no register running. We offer a homemade dinner with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, and green beans. When I came to the U.S., I learned about Thanksgiving, and thought, ‘Wow, that’s impressive. I hope I can give back someday.’ Giving is receiving. It’s a blessing. Mom used to tell me, ‘If you can help, help. If you can’t help, leave them alone.’ We’re Greek Orthodox, raised to do the right thing.”
Kakouras is sharing the same values to his daughters, Gigi and Alexandra, who—though they’re not involved in the business—inspire him every day. “I couldn’t do this without their support,” he says.
As he considers “semi-retirement” after 50 years in the business, Kakouras says he “wouldn’t change a thing. Thank God I’m healthy and happy, and very happy with what I’m doing.”
Today, Kakouras runs two restaurants, Pirates Landing and Theo’s Italian Restaurant. His advice to up-and-coming estiators? “Do what makes you happy, but do not take it lightly. It’s hard work. You’ve got to deal with the customer, and you have to do what the customer wants, not what you want. Restaurants are hard work. You pay the price. But I would not work for someone else. Anything you do, try to make it the best.”
