athenian
The Athenian Grill, a popular Greek cuisine food truck in Lexington owned and operated by Ilias Pappas, will become a small brick and mortar restaurant and market on South Ashland Avenue later this summer.
Pappas, a native of Greece who started the food truck last fall, is currently working on renovating the space, the former location of Belle’s Bakery, to fit the restaurant’s needs. Plans include completely gutting the interior and giving it a clean, modern look with exposed brick walls.
The restaurant will have deli-style service, where customers can order at the counter and sit at the few tables inside or outside, or pick up for take out. On the second floor, The Athenian Grill will have marketplace with a few shelves of authentic Greek items, such as spices, for sale. Each night, Pappas will also take reservations for one party (up to six people) who will be served a full-service dinner in an intimate setting upstairs.
Pappas says the need to have a brick and mortar restaurant came from frequent requests for catering services while he was operating his food truck, which would require him to have a commercial kitchen. He also plans on offering a delivery service during lunch and dinner, which is one reason he was interested in the South Ashland location, given its proximity to downtown and Chevy Chase.
With a large kitchen to operate from, Pappas says he will be able to prepare a larger variety of Greek dishes, which many people probably have never tried before.
“We’re focusing on real, traditional cuisine,” he said. “About 90 percent of our menu dishes, you’re not going to be able to find them anywhere else in the area.”
Once the restaurant is open, Pappas says The Athenian Grill food truck will still be making appearances around town, such as at special events and at the two breweries where it first started – West Sixth Street Brewing and Country Boy Brewing – though on a more infrequent basis. However, the new kitchen will allow the food truck to have a wider menu.
“This is actually going to help the Athenian Grill food truck, because it’s going to bring people dishes that they never had before,” Pappas said.
In an effort to help with the finances required of purchasing new kitchen equipment, Pappas has launched a Kickstarter campaign in an effort to raise $15,000. Contributors to the campaign will receive a number of meals and food items, and Pappas says it is essentially like pre-ordering the meal. Click here to see the Kickstarter campaign.