50 years of food and family: Symeon's in Yorkville celebrates golden anniversary

Symeon Tsoupelis was only 3 when his father, with whom he shares a first name, opened Symeon's Greek restaurant in 1973, but he still has vivid memories of those early days.

He remembers playing with Matchbox cars and Tonka trucks at the original Oneida Street location, which only had four tables and three stools, and going across the street with his father to shop for produce and meat at Chicago Markets.

There was a deep freeze one year at the restaurant’s New Hartford location, which the family purchased in 1976, and Tsoupelis was the only one small enough to shimmy into a crawl space with a hair dryer to melt the frozen pipes.

“They were very distinctive memories,” Tsoupelis said. “But who knows, a lot of them could be just memories because I've been told the story so many times.”

Symeon’s has lived on Commercial Drive in Yorkville since 1982, with a 7,000-square-foot building that seats over 200 guests. The restaurant is celebrating its 50th anniversary this October, and the space is brimming with memories.

Shelves in the restaurant's foyer feature artwork donated by regular customers over the years. A painting of Tsoupelis’ beloved mother, Ann, who died in 2001, hangs on the wall in the lobby.

Tsoupelis recalled his mother making pastries and casseroles for the restaurant in their kitchen at home to supplement the capacity of the tiny Oneida Street kitchen. He said his mother was an integral part of the restaurant.

“She was one of the driving forces behind it,” he said. “The success would not have been what it is without her.”

Tsoupelis and his wife, Shelli, bought the restaurant from his parents in 2001. Taking over the family business was not originally Tsoupelis’ plan post-college, but it turned out to be in his blood.

“My mom and dad said, ‘Why don’t you give it a shot and see if it's something you want to do?’” Tsoupelis said. “So I delayed my acceptance to grad school and never looked back.”

Like father, like son

On a gray Wednesday morning in October, Tsoupelis’ 20-year-old son, also named Symeon, manned the host stand. He greeted customers warmly and answered the phone with familiarity.

“Hey, Mike, how you doing?” the younger Tsoupelis said on the phone. “Is it just you today, or is it you and your mother too?”

The younger Tsoupelis said he had a phase of teenage rebellion where he did not want to follow in his father’s footsteps, and spent some time working with cars instead. Like his father, he washed dishes and bussed tables at the restaurant in high school; this past summer he started working the front of house and took a shine to it.

“I like the fact that it’s really broken me out of my shell,” the younger Tsoupelis said. “I’m not really a people person, or I didn't really realize how much of one I was. I would sit around with my friends and talk with them, but if I was around people I didn't know, I’d just kind of sit in my bubble and I wouldn’t say anything. Even five months ago, I would have been much more reserved, much quieter. But I feel like especially working up front has definitely improved my people skills.”

Jody Hartman, a server who has worked at Symeon’s for 20 years, remembers when the younger Tsoupelis was born and how he, too, used to play with his Matchbox cars on the floor of the restaurant. She expressed amazement at watching him grow up and now step into this role with the business.

The older Tsoupelis isn’t sure if his son will want to stay on and take over the business; he’s letting his son settle in and learn the ropes.

“He seems to be taking to it wonderfully,” Tsoupelis said. “Maybe that’s something he’ll want to do – that’s what we’re trying to figure out. But we’re going to figure out a way for it to continue one way or another.”

Decades of loyalty

In addition to Hartman, a number of Symeon’s staff members have decades-long tenures at the restaurant. Tsoupelis said that his father’s first employee, a man named Bob Rollins, worked there for almost the entire lifespan of the restaurant, only retiring in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

“We've had a lot of people here for a long time who have contributed to our success,” Tsoupelis said. “Without them, it wouldn't have been possible.”

Jason LaBuz, a prep cook who has worked at the restaurant for 31 years, spoke of the kindness of both generations of owners. He said that when he got into an accident with his first car, the oldest Tsoupelis called him into the office and handed LaBuz cash to pay for vehicle repairs.

“I didn’t know much about hard work, but his father led by example, so that made you want to work hard,” LaBuz said. “When your leader is doing the same as you, it makes you follow.”

The current owner carries on the legacy of his father’s work ethic and willingness to work shoulder to shoulder with his employees. He washes dishes and works the front of house and back of house alike, when necessary.

“I'm one of those people that I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty,” Tsoupelis said. “I help wherever I’m needed, and it could be anywhere.”

Hartman became emotional when reminiscing about her two-decade tenure at the restaurant.

She said that Tsoupelis remembers all the names of the staff’s family and gives them Christmas presents. Hartman has five or six regular customers who have been coming in every Friday and asking for her specifically for years. Some of her regulars even gave her gifts when her son was born.

“We’re just fortunate,” Hartman said. “It's just a rare opportunity to find a place to work that you love working at. I’ve met so many customers – I’ll start to cry if I talk about it. I’m just very fortunate.”

Family, food, future

Although the Tsoupelis family has made occasional adjustments to the menu over the years, the authentic, homemade Greek offerings have stayed fairly consistent, including recipes that Ann Tsoupelis helped develop. Tsoupelis said that staples like grilled souvlaki and tender, marinated Thracian chicken are perennial favorites.

He said he had just been talking to customers about how the psari sto filo, a haddock filet smothered in a rich, creamy sauce and encased in flaky filo pastry, is one of the restaurant’s best dishes.

“My mom came up with that dish, so that makes it extra special,” Tsoupelis said.

Tsoupelis’ father no longer lives in the area, but Tsoupelis said that he holds the innumerable lessons his parents taught him closely.

“My mom and dad started with absolutely nothing,” Tsoupelis said. “One of the things they said as they developed and grew the business is, ‘It’s always better to be in the giving lane than in the receiving lane.’ So I try to give back as much as I possibly can to the community. And then the Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. It's so simple, but it's not always used by everyone, unfortunately.”

Celebrating 50 years

The Tsoupelises held a low-key celebration with employees this month to mark the restaurant’s golden anniversary.

“We’re just lucky to have such a great family to work for, and have it be thriving,” Hartman said.

While Tsoupelis can’t be sure what the restaurant’s future will look like, he is grateful for and awestruck by its history.

“It’s a milestone, and we’re happy to reach 50 years,” he said. “It doesn’t even seem possible. We just really want to continue this legacy that we've built upon and keep it going.”

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Symeon's Greek restaurant 50th anniversary