When Arthur Lampros’ mother showed him and co-owner/chef Michael Lampros the “deli for sale” ad, they initially turned the idea away. Fortunately though, for the dedicated patrons of Giorgio’s Family Restaurant in Montclair, “she kept persisting,” and now, nearly 12 years later, what began as a 12-seat deli has turned into a 130-seat restaurant with an attached wine store, WineStyles.
The Lampros family has always been in the restaurant industry. Arthur’s father, restaurant namesake George Lampros, began working in the industry at the tender age of 16 on the ocean liner Olympia, and the family owned a restaurant in the ’70s in Fayetteville, N.C. In 1999, when the Lampros’ family began this venture, George had been working for others for 15 years, Michael had gone to culinary school, and Arthur had been working the other side of the restaurant business.
Giorgio’s is a family run restaurant, and while Arthur and Michael will admit that it takes long hours, hard work, and dedication to make things tick, it’s all paying off.
Enthusiasm in the Air
There’s a feeling of enthusiasm in the air as the restaurant opens, and Arthur and Michael call out warm greetings to their patrons. Even the décor (the restaurant was recently remodeled) has a welcoming feel, with traditional black and white family photographs on the walls.
One couple enters the restaurants and takes a table in Giorgio’s outdoor seating space. “Let’s eat outside and remember being in Greece,” one says to the other.
Giorgio’s menu features a wide variety of generously portioned items, ranging from traditional comfort food to high-end cuisine. Still true as it was 12 years ago, Giorgio’s offers high quality, freshly prepared gourmet meals without the big city prices.
Giorgio’s Family Restaurant and WineStyles co-owner and chef Michael Lampros (left) and his brother, owner Arthur Lampros, have been in the restaurant industry for as long as they can remember. It takes long hours, hard work and dedication to make things tick, admit the Lampros brothers, but it’s all paying off.
Georgio’s Greek offerings, like most Mediterranean cuisine, boast fresh flavors, lots of olive oil and herbs and grilled meats; flavors that can be traced to the island of Kalymnos, from where the Lampros family hails.
“That plays a big part of who we are,” said Michael Lampros of the Kalumnos influence on his restaurant’s food.
Signature Greek dishes included on Giorgio’s menu include saganaki, a fried kaseri cheese, served with pita, which Giorgio’s servers will bring to your table, top with brandy, light on fire and then douse with fresh lemon juice, and avgolemono soup, a traditional soup with chicken, egg and lemon.
“Greeks tell [me that our]avgolemono soup is better than the stuff they find in Greece,” Arthur proclaimed proudly.
Also on the menu: extra thick “Greek-style” pork chops, which because of the thicker cut, take longer to cook. (Michael says they’re worth the wait.)
The restaurant also offers such menu items an Aegean seafood salad and chicken souvlaki with traditional tzatziki sauce. Other Greek specialties that can be found at Giorgio’s are dolmathes— grape leaves stuffed with ground beef, rice, salt, pepper and tomato, Kalymnos style (tomatoes are traditionally used more in Kalymnos than in other regions throughout Greece).
The real treats at Giorgio’s, though, are the specials. Arthur and Michael are a team, it’s true, but it’s Michael’s creativity in the kitchen that determines what specials will be served up from one day to the next. And, once you have become comfortable with the traditional choices, Arthur and Michael suggest branching out, off the beaten path. Arthur gives high praise to the culinary skills of his father, George, and to Michael, explaining that weekends give them the chance to show off their skills. The specials almost always sell out.
For those not quite ready to take their taste buds down the road less traveled, Giorgio’s also offers more familiar American fare, including a bacon burger, on which the young as well as the young at heart have given their seal of approval.
Giorgio’s also serves up sweet treats, including chocolate cake, chocolate lava cake, cannolis and more, to complement any lunch or dinner. (The dessert menu is ever-changing, so be sure to ask for the selection of the day.)
Giorgio’s has gained many devoted fans over the 12 years it has been in business, and it is commonplace, on any given day, for regulars to arrive as early as 11:30 a.m. and stay as late as 2 p.m. Some devotees have never missed a Friday night dinner at Giorgio’s. “It’s become like a town hall where you can eat,” Arthur said.
The Lampros family takes that community spirit and connection seriously. George and Arthur both live in Prince William
County; Michael is considering relocating there. “We live here. We’re part of the community,” Arthur said. That feeling drives them to give back where they can. Their main focus is working with Azalea Charities.
Azalea Charities, a charity Giorgio’s has been associated with for nearly 10 years, is a local organization with two missions: supporting the local community through such causes as the Boys
& Girls Clubs, the Special Olympics, shelters, education-based projects, and Juvenile Diabetes; and providing comfort and relief items for soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines sick, injured or wounded from service in Iraq and Afghanistan through its Aid for Wounded Soldiers project. Both Arthur and Michael sit on the board of directors of Azalea Charities.
“We do fundraisers for them all the time,” Arthur said. “In fact, we have a sandwich on the menu dedicated to Azalea Charities. It’s called Frank’s Azalea Grilled Cheese. We donate a portion of the profits from that sandwich…every time it’s sold. Depending on how many we sell, that’s an extra $500 to $1,000 each year doing nothing—just selling a sandwich.”
“To be in this business, you have to love it,” Michael said. It’s pretty clear he and the rest of the Lampros family do.
Jennifer M. Price is a freelance writer and desktop editor. She was a resident of Prince Wi
liam County from 1978 to 2003, and still has family ties in the county. Price is a graduate of Gar-Field Sr. High and Longwood College. Now living in Fredericksburg, she is surrounded by many other former county residents who reminisce about the “old neighborhoods.”
