Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Greek specialties from scratch served for 49 years at Theo & Stacy’s in downtown Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO, MI – Theo and Stacy’s has been serving Greek specialties in downtown Kalamazoo for 49 yrs.

Stacy Skartsiaris and her late husband Theo Skartsiaris immigrated from Greece and started out a restaurant due to the fact they wanted careers and realized how to cook dinner, Skartsiaris said.

“We operate a extremely thoroughly clean cafe, good foodstuff and fantastic services,” she mentioned.

They opened the cafe, at 234 W. Michigan Ave., in 1973. There were being a few Theo & Stacy’s spots throughout Kalamazoo County at one stage, but the two other folks shut as Skartsiaris’ sisters retired.

Skartsiaris, 76, is at the restaurant from open up to close, 6 days a 7 days. They’re closed on Sunday after her daughter forced her to choose time off.

She did not know English when they to start with opened, and learned the language by speaking with her buyers. Now, 49 yrs afterwards, Skartsiaris is even now chatting to shoppers

“I’ve been in this article so several a long time,” Skartsiaris stated. “I know a whole lot of people. I see the youngsters. I see the grandkids. I’m part of this local community for the reason that I have been here 49 years.”

Skartsiaris is aware of most of her shoppers. There’s the person that drives in from Richland every single day for breakfast and the attorneys and courthouse workers who cross Michigan Avenue for lunch.

She is a sort and providing female, longtime Theo & Stacy’s customer Lionel Ford stated. He has been coming for a long time, and the team is familiar with his go-to lunch is a patty soften — on total wheat, with no onions.

The meals and Skartsiaris herself hold bringing him back again.

Skartsiaris rolls the grape leaves by hand, helps make the tzatziki sauce and augolemono soup from scratch and even would make her own vegan gyro “meat.”

The original gyro features a mix of seasoned beef and lamb. The gyro sandwich is served with French fries for $10.50.

A person of the numerous Greek specialties on the menu is mousakás. It has layers of eggplant and sautéed ground beef, and is topped with béchamel sauce. The dish is served with rice for $12.

The eatery hosts Greek vegan nights that are very popular with the group, she mentioned. They consider to do them monthly, but they are on pause until Sept. 9 to give Skartsiaris time to recover from an forthcoming knee substitution.

Cleanliness is crucial to the restaurant. Tongs or gloves are used whenever food stuff is touched. No just one touches meals with bare palms, Skartsiaris claimed.

She does not watch herself as previously mentioned others at the cafe as its owner. She reported she views everyone — from herself to the employees washing dishes — as the same. Quite a few of the servers and cooks have been with Theo and Stacy’s for many years. One particular cook has been with her 30 a long time, Skartsiaris mentioned.

“You have to respect folks to have them respect you back,” she stated. “Yes, we do have our lousy days, but bottom line I regard them a large amount from the bottom to the prime.”

It is an angle of positivity that will help Theo and Stacy’s thrive. Skartsiaris claimed she does not believe damaging imagined and expects the ideal result due to the fact a “positive frame of mind will work.”

Theo & Stacy’s is open up 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday by means of Saturday, and is shut on Sunday.

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