By Suzanne Schmidt
Staff Writer
When father Dino and son George Constantinou opened The Hungry Greek in Tampa four years ago, they were sure it was going to be a hit.
Since then they have opened their Wesley Chapel location, 2653 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., and now the co-owners are looking to offer franchise opportunities.
“We are getting the paperwork approved,” said George Constantinou, the owner who runs the Wesley Chapel location. “We had so many people come to us that want to own one so we figured why not. We want to make sure it is run the proper way with the freshest food and the best quality.”
The most important thing to the co-owners is the quality of the food.
“All the Greek food is homemade with my Grandmother’s recipes like the baked mousaka and the baked pastitsio,” Constantinou said. “We don’t care about the price of the food, it is more important to us that we have the highest quality ingredients. I even go to the market myself to get the vegetables.”
The fresh food is not the only draw according to Constantinou. He said many people also love the family-friendly atmosphere.
“We treat everyone here like they are family,” Constantinou said. “We also serve big portions at good prices. Everyone who sees the portions is always surprised.”
The restaurant serves Greek meals like Greek salad, chicken soulvaki, gyro’s, avgolemono or lemon-rice chicken soup and spinach pie. The restaurant also serves desserts like baklava, rice pudding, tiramisu and a variety of pies.
Brigitte Langford of Zephyrhills is becoming a regular at the restaurant and she said she likes to bring people with her to try it out.
“Everybody I have brought here loves it,” Langford said. “Every time I come I get something different and I have never had anything I didn’t like. The help is super nice and the service is fast.”
Peggy Baker of Zephyrhills joined Langford.
“It is my first time and I loved it,” Baker said. “I love Greek food and this is good.”
Joseph Dipippo of Lutz is a retired psychiatrist. He said a part of enjoying his retirement is to come to The Hungry Greek every week to have chicken Greek salad and other delicious Greek food.
“The people here are very friendly,” Dipippo said. “When I look for a restaurant I look for friendly staff and quality food which is why I come here every week.”
For more information, visit www.thehungrygreek.com or call (813) 345-8526.
