This Time, It’s Personal

Posted by estiator at 10 November, at 14 : 28 PM Print

After decades of success in restaurants, entrepreneur and Estiator columnist Peter Kambitsis opens his first Greek concept. By Michael Kaminer

Even with his stellar track record, Peter Kambitsis wasn’t fully sold on his latest venture until two key advisers weighed in on Yalos Taverna, the Greek fine-dining concept he launched in September in Island Park, Long Island.

“My ten-year-old and six-year-old visited the space I was considering, and they loved it,” says the Kefalonia native, who writes Estiator’s monthly “Knowledge Is Power” column on business strategy. “They’re like my board of directors, and they say it all, good or bad.”

Yalos Greek Taverna feels especially personal to Kambitsis from another angle: It’s the first Greek restaurant he’s launched in more than 35 years of innovation and success in hospitality. “Yalos is something very special to me. I have a wide range of other concepts, from bakeries to Latin restaurants to coffee shops. But I’ve never had anything Greek in my portfolio,” he says. “My partners and I get presented opportunities all the time—bars, pizzerias, nightclubs. This one was a no-brainer. When it came up, my partners says, ‘You’re Greek. You’ve taken the Latin concept through the roof; let’s do Greek. It’ll go even further.’ And to boot, this one was right in our backyard, a few minutes from our other concepts.”

In the short time since its opening, Yalos Greek Taverna has indeed made a splash in Island Park and across Long Island, with an abundance of five-star reviews on Google and sites like Yelp. The accolades reflect Kambitsis’ own passion for the project—and his personal stake in its Greek identity.

“I deliberately called Yalos a Greek restaurant. It’s not Mediterranean. Greek is Greek,” he says. (See his column in this issue on the topic! “I’m speaking to Greek restaurateurs who have built their businesses around Greek food but hesitate to put the word Greek on the front door,” Kambitsis writes. “We should stop treating our heritage as a limitation.)

To convey that message, Kambitsis started with the menu. “We went straight to the classics. Like ancient Greece, the classics always work. People are not looking for fusion or Greek 2.0 when they visit Greece.”

On the table, that translates as fish imported from Greece, octopus from Spain, lamb from Colorado, and other top-tier provisions. Likewise, Yalos’ kitchen takes a classical approach to cooking. “We season with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon, oregano. It’s not about drenching your food with mayonnaise or fattening sauces. Yalos’ cuisine is fresh and prepared simply. Plus, with GLP-1 trends, people are looking for healthier, leaner alternatives,” Kambitsis says.

Among the restaurant’s standouts: grilled calamari, “a staple. The octopus and lavraki are outstanding. Our tomato salad features handpicked tomatoes, which is a huge difference from the non-handpicked varieties. People always compliment me on our tomatoes, and say they can see and taste the difference. We’re also using the finest Greek yogurt for our tzatziki and desserts,” he says.

“The secret is also in the way we prepare our dishes and the seasonings we use. It’s not U.S. oregano or U.S. feta but all imported products. I’m willing to bet Yalos has the best food in the region,” Kambitsis says. “We want you to say, ‘I had this exact food in Greece, and it’s better here.’”

For customers, déjà vu might also extend to their surroundings. Yalos’ furniture is sourced from a Greek manufacturer, which produced custom pieces that Kambitsis designed. “I travel to Greece every six to eight weeks,” he says. “I have businesses there, and I’m always out, wining and dining. In Greece, restaurant design is about soft tones, earth tones, and natural colors. It’s more timeless, and not about the typical blue and white we always see in the States. ‘Yalos’ [γιαλός] means ‘seaside.’ We’re near [the town of] Oceanside. We wanted to create a restaurant by the water, and everything mimics the outdoor seating you’d see on a beach on an island in Greece.”

Even the kitchen reflects a dedication to authenticity. “The space had been a Mediterranean restaurant. It was OK. But when you’re preparing Greek food, you need other types of equipment. We brought in a much larger charcoal grill. We added double-deck ovens and more fryers. There were many changes under the hood, pun intended,” he says, laughing.

Yalos Greek Taverna’s wine list also reflects Kambitsis’ passion for Greek terroir. “Our wine list started off 75 percent Greek, and now it’s more like 90 percent. Greeks have been drinking wine for thousands of years. There’s old-world and new-world wine. We want to give people a Greek plate with a Greek grape. They pair well together, and have for millennia. There’s nothing wrong with a nice California chardonnay, but Greek wines are winning awards, and there’s nothing better than introducing people to something new and watching their faces light up when they take the first sip.” Among the labels on Yalos’ roster: an Assyrtiko from Estate Argyros in Santorini, a Malagousia from Epanomi’s Ktima Gerovassiliou winery, the “Hedgehog” Xinomavro from Alpha Estate in northwestern Greece, and Tselepos winery’s Driopi from Nemea.

To ramp up Yalos’ opening, Kambitsis and his partners relied on a canny strategy that blended social media and traditional advertising. “The demographics for fine dining are an average age of 45 and above. They still read, whether it’s the local paper or online. We’re also doing a major TV ad for Greek channels in the US,” he says. “But we also focused on social media and influencers, which drives in younger customers.”

While Yalos Greek Taverna has taken the spotlight lately, Kambitsis has been busy with his other smash-hit concepts, including Pappa Gallo, an upscale Peruvian-Latin eatery with live entertainment; café-like Sugarberry Bakery, a “European 2.0 bakery” with a serious coffee program; two locations of Mojo, a Latin-fusion restaurant with “great nightlife”; and New York Bakery Café, a Greek-European bakery in the heart of Astoria, Queens. Coffee Lobby, his newest venture, will open as the anchor tenant of a luxury rental building in Lynbrook, Long Island this month.

“Breslin Realty, the developer, approached us. We took a concept that exists in Greece of the bakery/coffee shop, where you have a strong coffee program alongside your breakfast, Viennoiserie, and pastries. We’ll also prepare sandwiches,” he says. Like Yalos, 30-seat Coffee Lobby will source its desserts from Kambitsis’ bakeries. “We will have 200 apartment units upstairs from us at Coffee Lobby, and we’re next to the Long Island Railroad train stop.”

The restlessly inventive Kambitsis is also developing “a new bakery concept that uses AI to create baked goods,” he says. “We’ve sourced the machinery, and we’re looking for a space. We’re partnering with a major company in Greece and planning to roll out several dessert concepts from this one unit, hopefully by January.” The yet-unnamed business will also be headquartered in Long Island.

With his nonstop drive for innovation, does Kambitsis fret about the competition “borrowing” his ideas? “No way,” he says. “Put it this way: The gym is there, but no one goes to the gym. People share ideas. That’s how the world goes around. But just because I share ideas doesn’t mean anyone is going to use them.”

In the meantime, Kambitsis remains part of a larger business network that owns 35 locations under different brands across the country.

“A big part of what drives me—and what I credit for my success—is my faith,” Kambitsis says. “My family, my business partners, and my faith have all played an enormous role in my journey. But above everything, my faith in God and my belief in the Lord have always been the foundation that keeps me grounded, grateful, and moving forward. It’s an authentic part of who I am and something that is very important to me.”

Yalos Greek Taverna
4338 Austin Blvd
Island Park, NY 11558
Yalostaverna.com

COVER STORIES HOME PAGE Constantine Kolitsas, Cover Story, Michael Kaminer