Six years ago, Steve Papakostas saw that there was a gap in the variety of food available to the Burlington community. There were plenty of American food restaurants and chains, but nothing that resembled the food that Papakostas loved to make.
Living in Kernersville — which has a large Greek community — Papakostas noticed the absence of Greek food in Burlington. So Mykonos Grill, a restaurant also found in Gibsonville, Salisbury and Concord, made another home in Burlington.
Patty McCauley, a Burlington native who had never eaten Greek food before Mykonos Grill, has been working at this location since it opened and has moved up to the role of manager. In that time, she has watched the restaurant transform from a small, casual Greek restaurant to something much more to the Burlington community.
Though the menu hasn’t changed much, the food has been in such high demand that the original space the restaurant occupied was not able to accommodate all of the customers who flocked to try the newest fad on the Burlington restaurant circuit.
Most food trends fade out, but for Mykonos Grill, the hype continues to this day.
“We took over the space next to us last year because we were getting more business than our building could physically handle,” McCauley said. “It has helped tremendously. We are still filling it up. It is wonderful.”
The physical space of Mykonos Grill is split into two sections and has a very casual feel. The space is set up like a classic New York deli, with a counter that patrons walk up to order at and plenty of booths and tables to fill the space. But at Mykonos, there are flavorful souvlaki and tzatziki sauce instead of thinly sliced deli meats and brown mustard or mayo.
During lunch hours, everyone from construction workers to lawyers look to Mykonos Grill to enjoy the flavorful grilled Greek food. McCauley said though the crowd that comes into Mykonos varies, everyone has something in common: they are looking for some good food.
“We get a mix of everyone,” McCauley said. “We do get a lot of Elon students, mostly at nights and on the weekends. We do get people even from Graham and Greensboro coming in. We see everybody.”
Other than just a few menu additions, like calamari and a fried cheese appetizer called saganaki, Mykonos Grill has stuck to its roots with Greek classics like gyros, souvlaki and baklava.
“Mykonos is conveniently close, and unlike a lot of restaurants in Burlington, their food is light, nutritious and unique,” said sophomore Molly McAdam. “Their spanakopita is truly delicious.”
Mykonos Grill is proud of the reputation that comes from the quality of its food. The restaurant focuses on providing a “taste of Greece” in a fresh and healthy way.
Mykonos Grill, located on 2253 S. Church St., Burlington, is open 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The lunch crowd makes up a majority of their customers as there are different lunch combinations offered every day.