Monday, November 30, 2020

[OPA!] After Four Decades in Business, Popular East Cobb Eatery Shutting Down

After one name change, three locations and a combined 40 years in business, a popular East Cobb area restaurant is throwing in the Windex and calling it a career. Christos Giannes, 65, owner of Kouzina Christos, made the vague announcement on his restaurant's Facebook page early Monday.  "FYI...Open for service Saturday till..." read the post which received several comments from concerned longtime patrons.   

In a separate post on Christos Giannes' personal facebook page, the chef/owner is more direct in expressing his thoughts on the closure and the "flaccid and shortsighted response from local, state and national sources." 
"Kouzina Christos will be closing after service Saturday  December 5th. I have decided to curtail talks with landlord over options to remain operational.  My heart goes out to the independent operators, their staffs and their families, struggling to navigate the unknown and unpredictable course of Covid-9. The flaccid and shortsighted response from local, state and national sources for support to buttress businesses who's loss will negatively affect business viability, employees, their families, the community, the schools is laughable. The losses to the foundation, the fabric that buttress our communities will be felt for many years.  My fantastic staff and I will take a long overdue break while looking at options to re-imagine the next chapter of Kouzina Christos."
Kouzina Christos, a local favorite for Greek and Mediterranean food, was originally opened by Christos' parents John and Maria Giannes, as simply "Christos" in 1979.  John and Maria, Greek immigrants, first saved up to open a pizza shop in Connecticut, then later moved south and opened Christos at Terrell Mill Junction Shopping Center on Terrell Mill Road. The couple moved Christos to the nearby Delk Spectrum Shopping Center in 1996.   The Giannes family was again on the move in 2012 when they relocated to the redeveloped Terrell Mill Village Shopping Center and adopted the new Kouzina Christos name.  

Throughout all the moves, the restaurant's core menu remained essentially the same, specializing in calzones, gyros and grinders, but the 2012 name change brought an elevated offering which added more depth to the menu and also emphasized sit-down service.  Sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that Christos was considering closing months before the pandemic but that the shutdown and substantial drop in sales that resulted were the final straw that made Christos' decision for him.   

Those looking to enjoy the Giannes' family food and their authentic Greek recipes, look no further than Avondale Estates (and next year Brookhaven) where John "Johnny" Gianoulidis, 55, Christos' younger brother, operates Kafenio and will open The Greek Pizzeria & Gyros in 2021 along Clairmont Road in Brookhaven.  

Will you miss Kouzina Christos?  What is your favorite Greek dish?  What type of restaurant would you like to see open in place of Kouzina Christos?

Please share your thoughts below    

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great establishment; great people who will be missed for their personalities as well as their food. Love you All!! - Kevin F.

Frank King said...

Best Gyros I've had and the subs and pizza were great too. Going to miss this place. Good luck

keytuner said...

This is a shame. Goes to show how much private enterprise and small business DOESNT mean to our elected officials.

Christos has been a landmark here in Marietta since forever, and always a TASTY one, at that. Very sorry to see this iconic eatery close down.

Thanks a lot Governor Kemp. Way to go.

Unknown said...

I have enjoyed this food, and these people, for almost two decades. I've had many birthday celebrations there. Their Greek potatoes are the best! I love the falafel plate and calzones. The owners and staff are like family. I will miss them all. I wish all the best for every one of them.

Brad said...

Weird to blame Kemp, who tried to prevent this by opening businesses back up, and getting blasted for doing it, then getting blamed for something like this. Not sure I understand the logic...

Unknown said...

Best Greek restaurant in town! This hurts my heart to read!

Unknown said...

I hope they will have a Phoenix moment and re-imerge again in a different location.

Anonymous said...

Cool cool, allow me to explain. The logic is, after kemp decided to reopen the state early as cases were surging, the public lost trust in the government's ability to contain the virus or protect them, so very few people started going place because IT WASN'T SAFE. Give your balls a tug.

Unknown said...

USA #1 in COVID cases.
Countries with the fewest or zero active cases?
Vietnam,Taiwan,Iceland,New Zealand,and Singapore.
Good leadership during a crisis can make or break a small business.

Anonymous said...

Amen!

Levander said...

What the MSM doesn’t tell you when they are presenting their propaganda, is that the USA tests far more than any other nation. The reason we have so many more cases is because the testing actually lets us know we have them. Other countries don’t know nearly as much about how many cases they have because they don’t test, And most people who get COVID are asymptomatic. So there’s no way to know unless you test.

Unknown said...

So sad.... Food was so yummy!! Those Lamb Balls were amazing!! Can you share the recipe please?

Anonymous said...

I had the pleasure of eating at Christos since 1985. I grew to know the entire family and would like them to know how appreciated they are. Christos was the best of its kind anywhere around.They were extremely devoted to serving the best and being consistent beyond belief. I wish them well and thank them for many, many, many excellent memories.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...