Q: Please tell us a bit about yourself and your family.
I have lived in this area my entire life. I graduated high school from Neshaminy Highschool and did one semester at Bucks County Community College. My parents are originally from Greece. My dad was born on a little fishing Island called Spetses in Greece. There they fished for their food and raised their own cattle. He lived a very simple, but poor life. My mom came over from a different island called Chios. My parents met after they had both come to America. My mom was a server at a restaurant and my dad was the cook. Together they had me and my two sisters. My mom and sisters are still close by and are such an important part of my life and my business. My father, unfortunately, passed away 18 years ago. I also have a wonderful fiancé named Laurie. She is an incredible support, and I am so grateful for her. She helps me at the restaurants on the weekends on top of her job in finance.
Q: How did you get into the restaurant business?
That story actually goes all the way back to my godfather. When my father was 7 or 8 years old my godfather, who ran restaurants in America, invited my dad’s family to come over and work with him. My dad was the only one who wanted to go, so they sent him on a boat ride with $8 in his pocket. He started out in his godfather’s restaurant peeling potatoes. Over the years he learned to cook and actually became a really great cook. Eventually, other restaurants caught wind of my dad’s talent and started to give him offers. He started to bounce around and started making good money. He worked incredibly hard and after a while had enough money to open his first restaurant in Philly.
While my parents were on their 3-month honeymoon/ trip to Greece my uncle came over to run my dad’s restaurant in Philly. He did not know anything about running a restaurant, or cooking for that matter, and that ended up shutting down the restaurant. When my parents came back, they were devastated and had to start over from scratch. He started working at different diners again to make ends meet. Eventually, The Madison in Levittown went up for sale. My dad offered them a cash deal and ended up taking over. The Madison was location was leased though, and my dad was tired of just paying rent, he wanted to own his own place. Next door there was a plumbing business that was getting ready to leave. The owner approached my dad and offered to sell him the unit. He ended up buying the unit and naming it “The New Madison”.
With so much family history it was only natural that I would grow up in the restaurant business. My dad was old-school Greek and pulled me up by my ears at 8 years old and started teaching me. By 14 years old I was running the grill, and at 16 I had it all down. I had a few other jobs over the years, but my father kept me very close. I had a job at Pathmark for a few years because my dad wanted me to see what it was like working for someone else. I also had a paper route at one point. There was also a 2-year period where I was a bar tender to gain some different kitchen experience.
Q: How did you end up with your own restaurant?
When I was 23 years old my dad told me he would give me his business when I was 25 if I could show him that I was serious. When I turned 25, he signed everything over to me with some contingencies. At this point, the business was not doing great. When I got the business, I came in and started slowly changing things. I added menu items, switched up our coffee, and cut unnecessary spending. My dad was not a big believer in the changes that I was making, but I kept rolling with it hoping to improve the business. After enough creative differences, my dad eventually stepped away from the business.
In a time when I found myself with few people in my life, I started to realize that the customers around me were my family. I wanted to honor them, so I began to snap photos of all of my regular customers, framed them, and out them up on our wall. When I started doing that the customers went nuts. A lot of restaurants put up photos of celebrities or something, but I really wanted to support the people who had supported me for so long. I was the first restaurant in the surrounding area to put up photos of the regular customers. Over the years, I grew as a restaurant owner and really developed a whole entire restaurant. I was very proud of my place in Levittown. I continued to make changes by improving our equipment, and expanding our hours, all while sleeping in a booth to save money for myself. All of this was to be able to prove that my changes were worth it and that I could make my place successful. After 4 years my dad came back to see my progress and was genuinely impressed by all of the work that I had done. That meant the world to me! About 6 months later my dad, unfortunately, passed away.
My big dream was to be able to have another restaurant. I looked around for many years for the right place. Eventually, my mom, a realtor, found me a place in Holland. It was actually up for rent, but I really wanted to be able to own my own place. I made a competitive offer though, and they ended up selling me the property. I used up all my savings for this second restaurant. Because of this, it took us 7 years to get the place up and running. Once we got the new restaurant open the first month was crickets, the second month got a little better, and by the third month, we were making a little profit. Right after that covid hit us and shut us down for about a year. Thankfully our restaurant in Levittown was able to stay open during that time. After a year or so we were able to open back up in Holland and since then we have been doing okay. People here in Holland have been super supportive of our business! We have also of course kept the pictures going in our Holland restaurant.
Q: Do you like any other restaurants in the area?
I do! I eat out most nights because I don’t love cooking after work. Unless of course I am using my smoker or making BBQ. I have a few favorite restaurants for different types of food. For Mediterranean food, it is Canal Street Grill. For Seafood, it is Under the Pier on route 13. For breakfast, I go to Pat’s Colonial Kitchen or Green Eggs Cafe in Philly. I love my restaurants, but I enjoy eating out because if I eat here, I will inevitably get pulled into work.
Q: What are some of your favorite TV shows and Movies:
My favorite show is Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. I got a lot of ideas from watching the show and lots of recipe inspiration.
Q: What is your favorite band or music genre?
I really like festivals actually and hippy music.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
My go-to answer is Greece because I have a house there and the family ties. I have to go to take care of it from time to time. We like to do some small trips every once in a while. This year we are going to Niagra Falls.
Q: What are some of your favorite things about our community?
How clean it is and the people here. Everyone is so amazing and supportive. There is a great sense of community here.
Q: What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
You cannot top Greece!
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My mom, my fiancé, and my sisters.
Q: What is one or two of your favorite smells?
Pineapple and Strawberries
Q: What advice would you give to people?
Set a goal and no matter what it takes, do not let go of it.
Q: How can the community support you?
You guys are already doing it but keep spreading the word!
Q: Where can people find you and your business?
Cafe Madison: 295 Buck Rd, Southampton, PA, 18966
