Meet the Mayors of Gyro City
Posted by estiator at 15 February, at 19 : 49 PM Print
RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT
Meet the Mayors of
Gyro City
This new fast-casual brand showcases prime ingredients and Greek pride. By Michael Kaminer
Nearly two decades into a high-flying career in hospitality and nightlife, George Karavias was craving a taste of home. “I love gyros,” Ikaria native Karavias tells Estiator. “It’s my go-to. But I’m in the city almost every day, and I couldn’t find a good one.” With partners Angelo Georgiadias and Mario Costantini, Karavias created Gyro City, a fast-casual concept that launched in New York’s Greenwich Village in January.
“We grew up going to Greece every summer, and we still try to make the trip each year,” says Georgiadias, a Skopelos native. “We always eat a gyro right off the plane. For us, Gyro City is about recreating that first-bite feeling. And people who’ve come by our place say it’s just like the Greek experience.”
The quest for authentic gyros was not the only catalyst for Gyro City, says Karavias, who is the founder of New York’s fast-growing Dream Hospitality Group. “I’ve been part of restaurants for two decades, and it’s harder and harder to manage large-scale operations. Everyone knows the economy is not the greatest, and it’s harder to get the $100 or $150 check at a restaurant. You can achieve more at a fast-casual place right now.”
For Gyro City’s first location, the trio chose a busy block of McDougal Street in the West Village, just east of 6th Avenue. “We’d been looking at McDougal for a long time,” Karavias says. “That block doesn’t have any fast-casual gyro or souvlaki. There are so many people walking by, several comedy clubs, and NYU. It’s a lot of action. We’re not just opening Gyro City locations anywhere.”
An obsession with ingredients is the other driver behind Gyro City, Karavias says. The menu features proteins sourced from butchers; meats are antibiotic-, hormone-, and seed-oil-free. All produce is USDA organic “always. You won’t see ‘when available’ or ‘when in season,’” Karavias says. Pita is imported weekly from Greece: “It’s absolutely top-quality pita, and one of the most expensive.” Tzatziki, feta, and olive oil are all sourced from Greece. Honey comes from Karavias’ home turf of Ikaria.
Gyro City will also cook fries in beef tallow instead of seed oils—a key detail in its food philosophy, Karavias says. “The first time you come in, you’ll not only love it, but you’ll feel great about what you ate,” he says. “It won’t feel heavy. A gyro is an essentially heavy item, loaded with meat, carbs, and sauce. Ours are prepared with such care, and such thoughtfully sourced ingredients, that you’ll feel good after your meal.”
Along with beef and lamb gyro pitas, chicken gyro pitas, the menu offers chicken and pork souvlaki pitas, beef and lamb kebab pitas, loukaniko (Greek sausage) pitas, shrimp souvlaki pitas, and vegetarian falafel pitas.
For Karavias, who started promoting restaurants and nightlife at age 16, the connection with his Greek heritage is as crucial to Gyro City’s mission as the food. The McDougal location “is a warm space” with nods to Greece, says Karavias. “It’s got blues and whites. We’re Greek Orthodox. We have our Εικόνες (icons) and our Greek Orthodox Bible. This is something personal for us, an important project. Angelo and I are proud Greeks, very connected to the Greek community, and we want to showcase to New York City how great Greek food can be.”
Even the brand’s website speaks Greek; it stars a jaunty gyro character who greets visitors with “Ela, my friends! My name’s Yianni, mayor of Gyro City!” Karavias, Georgiadias, and Costantini are already preparing for a second Gyro City opening, in Astoria, Queens, this spring. “Astoria will be a bigger location, with seating,” Karavias says.
While the partners are planning steady growth around New York City, Karavias says he doesn’t see franchising in the brand’s future. “That can kill quality,” he says. The brand celebrated its debut last month by giving away gyros to its first 100 customers. Reviews online have been wildly enthusiastic. “Gyro City is rooted in authenticity, quality, and hospitality,” Karavias says. “We believe gyros deserve better, and so do the people eating them. We’re not trying to reinvent the gyro; we’re trying to respect it. We use better ingredients, real cooking methods, and a hospitality-first mindset because that’s how food should be made and shared.”
Gyro City
99 McDougal Street, New York City
gyrocitynyc.com
@gyrocitynyc
