Pappas’ Grill

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Restaurants

Beads of sweat had begun to form on Greg Pappas’ brow.

He lifted his head from the sizzling grill in front of him to glance at the door to his hole-in-the-wall eatery, Pappas’ Grill.

His glance revealed a line of chatting customers, some holding money while others patiently waited with empty cups. His blink in focus revealed the echoing prattle of a crowded room behind him.

His wife, Pat, bustled around behind him, slamming the cash drawer, filling cups and talking with regulars.

“I’d say we know 75 percent of our customers by name,” Greg said. “Vestavia is a very loyal community.”

Taking in the mingling of customers and friends left a sloppy grin plastered on his now 65-year-old face.

As he turned back to the grill, he reminisced about his 21 years of owning it. These days, at most hours every seat is taken, and he doesn’t bother turning the grill off anymore. It works because the Pappases feed thousands.

Running the restaurant is a husband and wife affair, and Greg said the work is split pretty fairly: Pat makes the Pastitsio and Moussaka, and he makes just about everything else.

On Thursdays and Fridays he adds prime rib and baked leg of lamb, respectively, to the menu. The grape leaves and chicken are also popular.

Greg and Pat usually hurriedly bump into each other in the alleyway kitchen lining the back of the restaurant when they cook. It’s not uncommon for the Pappases to be caught bickering at each other in their tight space, her in Greek and him with the occasional swear word.

But shockingly enough, the sparring is a token example of their love’s endurance.

“She’s so much smarter than I am,” Greg said.

Pat and Greg have known each other since childhood. They both grew up in a tight-knit Greek community in Birmingham and attended Greek school at their church together, but Greg said it wasn’t until he was much older and wiser that she would date him.

During their respective childhoods, the Pappases were accustomed to a range of Greek cuisine. These dishes, cooked by their mothers so many years ago, inspired most of the dishes on the menu.

Over the years cooking has become a source of pride for the couple. What began as a few Greek items catapulted into the Pappas’ menu of more than 50 items and a full catering spread.

“The dish I’m most proud of is my [original] Greek-style Snapper,” Greg said. “It’s topped with onions, tomatoes, feta cheese and olive oil.”

If you want a gyro and baklava for dessert, they’ll have that out just as quickly as the chicken fingers and fries.

Pappas’ best-loved specialty  is a sauce customers slather on most of the menu items. The recipe for his renowned tzatziki sauce, used to make up to 40 gallons of at a time, hails straight from Athens, Greece. It was originally the creation of Pat’s cousin, Elena Giannopoulou.

One might wonder of the twinge of envy Giannopoulou might have when Greg serves her recipe all the way over in America, but Greg assures, “family just wants to help.”

And they’re no strangers to loyalty like that.

“I love the community. It’s just so competitive,” Greg said.

Pappas’ is located on Montgomery Highway near Red Lobster.

“Everybody says there are a thousand Greek restaurants,” Greg said. “We have authentic Greek recipes and menu on a daily basis. I don’t think you can go anywhere and get the variety we have.”

Encouragement and feedback from his customers keeps him going, he said.

“You have to love this business or you don’t need to be in it,” Greg said. “You need to be married to it.”

The 21st anniversary of the restaurant’s opening is in October, and Greg said with his classic belly laugh that the end isn’t anywhere in sight.

“I’ll be back there (in the kitchen) with a walker,” Greg said.