Hummingbird Flies Into San Pedro

Milen Tsekov, known around San Juan Capistrano for his garlicky hummus and stuffed grape leaves, won't be working in his downtown eatery as often as in the past two years.

Along with his wife, Mariana Artatchka—who together own and operate the in the —he's opening another restaurant, in San Pedro.

"It's exciting. It's a dream come true," Artatchka said of the new location. The San Juan Capistrano cafe at the downtown train stop will remain open, she said. "It's our baby. We won't be letting go of it."

The Dana Point couple who hail from Bulgaria plan to divide their time between the two restaurants, with Milen spending more of it in Los Angeles. That restaurant, to be named Limani Taverna, will serve the same array of Mediterranean foods and sandwiches, although the spread will be larger, thanks to a full kitchen.

Limani will open in a couple of months at the shuttered Papadakis Taverna in San Pedro, but no later than December, Artatchka said.

The Daily Breeze, a newspaper covering the South Bay, reported Saturday that "Papadakis Taverna was legendary in San Pedro for 37 years. John Papadakis closed the restaurant early in 2010 and the property—owned by Papadakis—has been for lease ever since."

They'll also bring in live music and hope to see lots of dishes crashing and shouts of "oopah!"

"We want to keep it Greek," she said of a term used to describe their restaurant's food, which is just as much Bulgarian. "Greek is more famous. Everyone knows what it is."