Readers' Choice Kids Menu In Suisun: Athenian Grill

When it comes to feeding the little ones, readers chose Athenian Grill for having the best dedicated kids menu.

One of the first restaurants to move to town during redvelopment's first reworkings of the Suisun waterfront, Patch caught up with the Athenian Grill owners last year to talk about the history of the restaurant:

When owners, Spiros and Shelly Kontogiannis, first moved to Northern California from southern California, they had no idea they would open a restaurant that would become one of the better known staples of the Suisun City community for 14 years. In fact, their plan was to go into a totally different direction altogether.

“We had an opportunity to go in the medical hazardous waste division, so we bought a house up here and the company we’d bought into sold,” said Shelly.

From there the Kontogiannis’ thought they might go into building prospective housing in the area. It was not until they talked with a friend that was, at the time, Suisun City’s City Manager, that they began to consider starting their own restaurant.

“We saw an opportunity on the waterfront with the Redevelopment Agency,” said Shelly.

The couple had previously owned Greek fast food restaurants in Southern California, but this would be their first full service restaurant. Spiros, who had previously worked as a contractor and had experience in construction since the age of 13, built the restaurant from the ground up. He even made a home on top of the restaurant, and moved his parents into it.

Look for a new contest next week: Best place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.