What do most people remember about their first visit to Shake Shack, the famous patty-flipping roadside stand? Probably the taste of their delicious burger and the long line that stretched out the door and around the block.
But if you ask Stathis Antonakopoulos, he will tell you about his Epiphany moment - the light bulb moment he realized he could apply this “burgers - only better” concept to the traditional Greek souvlaki on a stick.
Born and raised in Athens, Antonakopoulos has been surrounded by a family in the restaurant business all his life (his parents own a restaurant in Greece) and he’s had years of experience in the food business - he previously served as director of operations for the Kellari Hospitality Group.
About two months ago, Antonakopoulos opened STIX Mediterranean Grill on 23rd Street in New York. And what he did was give a fresh new preservative-free twist to the age-old kebab concept.
“Just like Danny Myers [the New York restaurateur behind Shake Shack] took one of the oldest concepts in the United States - a cheeseburger and a shake - and gave it a higher quality, better packaging and presentation and made it into a successful business grossing over 150 million dollars a year worldwide, I got an Epiphany and asked myself why the Greeks can’t do the same,” says Antonakopoulos.
“The idea of the souvlaki came to me right away and I started thinking about ways to make it better - without all the blue and white Parthenon columns,” he adds. “I thought of ways to make it hip and young.”
Not just another souvlaki place
At first his friends thought he was crazy. New York - a city where 80% of all new restaurants fail - didn’t need another souvlaki place. But that was where they were wrong because Antonakopoulos was not thinking about opening “another” souvlaki restaurant.
“My idea was to open up a souvlaki place with a whole new twist,” he says. “Today, people are very pleasantly surprised when they come to STIX for the first time. Even our Greek friends are surprised.”
Asked to describe his restaurant, Antonakopoulos says the concept is simple: Mediterranean cuisine, casual space, high quality food and very affordable price.
Open daily from seven o’clock in the morning to midnight, Antonakopoulos says STIX offers a genuine Mediterranean lifestyle experience - from your morning coffee, fresh juice and Greek yogurt, to your afternoon salad and your cocktails, wines and unique tapas-style dining experience at night. And almost everything is served on a stick. Forks are optional.
“We are also breaking the traditional way of ordering and thinking at a restaurant,” he says. “It’s not only a different concept but a different kind of food. Everything we have on the menu is on a stick. It has been amazing to see that people love it.”
As for the coffee, STIX boasts one of New York’s best Espresso bars. It was designed by world champion baristaStefanos Domatiotis from Athens. Another Greek, Nick Stavrakakis, an award-winning chef from Crete, is in the kitchen.
“Our menu is simple,” he says. “We Greeks are used to going to a restaurant in Greece and ordering tapas-style. It’s a different concept here in the United States, but people love it. We are also very proud of the quality of our ingredients here at STIX. A lot of work went into finding the best.”
The chicken, he says is 100% organic from a free-range farm in Pennsylvania.
But the real secret to his success is finding the right mix of staff and leading by example. First impressions matter very much to Antonakopoulos.
“We strive to give our guests - this is how I see my customers - a unique experience and the chance to get to know the Mediterranean lifestyle.”
New York’s 23rd Avenue STIX soon won’t be alone. Antonakopoulos is planning to open open two more STIX in other parts of the city by the end of the year.
“I’m not just building a restaurant,” he says. “I’m building a concept and a family.”
