It's Greek To Me Dining Greenhouses Back By Popular Demand

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — The heated greenhouse dining experience is back at Ridgewood's It's Greek To Me for the 2021-2022 winter season.

Owner Paul Vagianos rolled out the idea in the winter of 2020 as COVID-19 numbers began climbing again — sound familiar? — and, by popular demand, has revamped the idea as the weather cools down this year.

Last year, Vagianos and his team designed eight outdoor dining greenhouses that were equipped with electric wall heaters that are outfitted with stainless steel casings and mounted on the roof of each dining space. This year, there are only seven greenhouses, but each with the same heating system, plus new improvements to make It’s Greek to Me’s outdoor dining more comfortable than ever before, a spokesperson said.

Two greenhouses have been replaced with an entirely new greenhouse structure, while five of the original greenhouses have been modified so that the structure fully extends to the ground to eliminate drafts completely.

Each greenhouse is decorated with string lights, chandeliers and locally-made wreaths. They are once again situated on the sidewalks of East Ridgewood Avenue and Chestnut Street in Ridgewood.

The greenhouses are only available at the Ridgewood location.

Due to the rising COVID cases in and around northern New Jersey, It’s Greek to Me is also now utilizing its open-air patio as an additional outdoor dining area. There are now five plexiglass dining bubbles that are individually heated by a suspended heater, two of which can seat up to four customers, and three of which can seat up to eight customers.

After each group is finished eating in both the greenhouses and dining bubbles, the individual dining space is disinfected and aired out with a sanitary blower, which has been approved by the Governor of New Jersey, the State Department of Health, and the local health department, a spokesperson said.