Little Athens Restaurant to Close after More Than a Decade

has been a staple in the village for more than a dozen years.

On Tuesday, the Greek restaurant will close, but not before saying a special farewell to loyal customers with a going-away celebration of sorts. 

Manager Evyennia Kontoulis said the restaurant would open at 4 p.m. Tuesday and would offer $3 sandwiches and specials at the bar. Hot sausage, burgers and hot dogs fresh from the grill also will be served.

“It’s supposed to be nice out, so my dad’s going to be grilling outside,” she said.

Around 8 p.m., DJ Dick will begin spinning tunes. The restaurant at 518 Locust Place will close its doors at 2 a.m.

At the age of 19, Kontoulis last summer took over the restaurant from her parents, Lori and Vasilis Kontoulis. Running the family business full time while majoring in secondary education at Robert Morris University kept Kontoulis very busy.

She said the family decided to sell the restaurant after 13 years to focus attention on the growing catering business, a decision she described as bittersweet. when her parents opened  and grew up watching her mother and father work in the kitchen, before she joined in the work.  

“Honestly, it’s a big weight off our shoulders,” she said.“I did grow up here, so it will be different.”

Kontoulis said a company called Sidelines Bar and Grill purchased the Locust Place establishment.

Sidelines tweeted last month that the restaurant would be opening approximately in late April. 

Customers who can’t live without the gyros, baklava, rice pudding and spinach pies they've grown to love will be happy to know that they can still find Little Athens at the .  

“Everything that we normally have at the Farmers Market, we’ll still have,” she said.