The folks at George’s Greek Café are trying to get people to “go Greek” on Sept. 22 by encouraging interest in the local arts.
On that day, the restaurant is asking people to dine in or take out food at any its three locations and the family-owned eatery will donate 10% of food purchases to local arts programs. To have 10% of their purchase go to local arts, patrons must present an Arts Council coupon before ordering. Coupons can be downloaded at the council’s website.
The donation will go to We Love Long Beach Arts, a charity that supports music and art programs in the area. Specifically, the charity funds the Long Beach Education Foundation and the Arts Council for Long Beach and its grant programs.
“To keep music and art in our schools and community, we need everyone’s support,” Craig Watson, Executive Director of the Arts Council for Long Beach, said in a statement.
The restaurant is named after the father of the family, George Loizides a staple figure at the Pine Avenue location, who serves as that location’s greeter.
George’s son, Demetrios “Jimmy” Loizides, often represents the tiny chain in public matters, and he can often be found at all three locations on the same day. George’s wife, Rodour, created many of the restaurant’s dishes.
The family, natives of Cyprus, an island nation in the Mediterranean, came to American via Zimbabwe, where they armed themselves with business knowledge from running a general store in that rugged area of Africa for several years.
In 1980, father George moved the family to Long Beach. George has become the icon for his namesake restaurant by greeting customers in the patio of the Pine Avenue cafe, shaking the hand of every man and hugging every woman who walks through the restaurant. In 1999, the family obtained a small-business loan from the city for $25,000 and maxed out their credit cards to open George’s in 1999, according to the younger Loizides.
After nearly 10 years at that locale, George’s moved further south to its present location, and opened two more restaurants with the George’s name.
Go to georgesgreekcafe.com to place orders, make a reservations or get directions to the locations.