Saying Goodbye to Demetrios’
Many in our Kefi « parea » are aware of our family legacy in the local restaurant industry, but for those who aren't: Kefi co-owner Eleni Sokos grew up at Demetrios' Pizza House on Cortez Road in Bradenton.
Papou Jimmy “Pitsaria”
Her Papou Jimmy and Thea Paula opened Demetrios’ in 1976 with the help of her Yiayia Eleni (for whom our Eleni is named). Her father, Gus Sokos, earned his partnership in the business, buying out his father before he turned 30.
Demetrios’ is where Eleni’s parents met. Her mom Lisa’s parents would bring her every Thursday for pizza before their weekly trip to the skating rink. Lisa caught Gus’ eye back in 1983 and the rest is history. Eleni and her sister Jamie Kay spent almost every weekend since they could walk and talk working at the restaurant and every summer in college they came back to wait tables.
Several of Jason’s family stop by DPH on visit to FL
Kefi co-owner Jason Simpson also has a special connection to Demetrios': before he moved to Florida 10+ years ago, it was always his family's favorite place for pizza when visiting his grandmother, who lives in Cortez. Jason & Eleni joke that she was probably once his server! Before opening Kefi, Jason spent a few months working at Demetrios’ to learn the ropes of a high-volume restaurant operation.
Eleni and Dad Gus
Demetrios' is where we learned the art of hospitality…
how powerful the connection between guest and host can be…
and, most importantly, that doing the right thing by your people is always a successful business strategy.
The O.G. Salad
So much of what we do at Kefi is influenced by the Demetrios’ legacy, including The O.G. (Original Greek) Salad, our riff on their wildly-popular Greek salad. Our family was kind enough to share the original Greek dressing recipe with us, and we hope we do it justice.
Another special reminder of this legacy watches over our walk-up window.
While still in the ideation phase for Kefi, Eleni spotted this Yves St. Laurent LOVE print in Marrakech, Morocco. The backstory here is that, each year, the artist created a new edition in his LOVE series to gift to family & friends.
The artwork for the “1976” year reminded her of the branding concepts for Kefi that her Sokos Solutions team was working on at the time. Of course, with 1976 being the year Demetrios’ opened, she instantly knew she had to bring home the print to pay homage to the family business which has had so much influence on our vision for Kefi Streetside Cafe.
As the DPH retirement date approaches, we feel mixed emotions of joy and sadness, grief and relief, but mostly love for our family and the community they created over three generations and nearly five decades. Over the next two weeks, Jason and Eleni will be pitching in at DPH to help serve as many guests as possible and pay tribute to the place that has given us so much.
Wishing our family - and the staff of Demetrios’ who feel like family - all the best to come!