A unique, 14-seat North Shore eatery is taking on a new and bigger look as it expands after three years of operation.
Opa of Greece, a Greek restaurant started three years ago by Greek immigrant Michael Borodimos, is tripling in size and adding a Greek-style outdoor patio to give the restaurant “a Greek Village look and feel,” Borodimos said.
“We’ve been very successful over the past three years getting great reviews from many people so we want to provide for a bigger space to seat more guests,” he said. “We want to create an atmosphere that is like you are on one of the Greek isles.”
Borodimos came to the United States in 2000 after working in Greece at restaurants operated by his father and grandfather.
The seating capacity will grow from 14 to 90 when the renovation is complete in the next month. Borodimos closed the restaurant a couple of weeks ago and is personally working on building the expanded eatery with $60,000 of materials he bought to create the new look, including a 120-year-old wooden door Borodimos brought from Greece to create a new entrance on Frazier Avenue.
He is used to doing the work himself. Borodimos both cooks and serves the Greek and Mediterranean-style meals he began serving at Opa of Greece since it opened in November 2013. Borodimos says he has served more than 20,000 dinners, all prepared by himself with recipes he learned in Greece. His main dish is a sampler of eight entrees featuring lamb and other specialty food items that sells for $15.99 per plate.
One Knoxville reviewer described the downtown eatery as “a hole in the wall establishment” and “a one-man show who pulls off a magnificent Greek culinary experience for his diners.
“Having spent the 2 most recent summers in Greece, I can say that Opa is the best Mediterranean haunt thus far where I’ve dined this side of the Pond,” Susan “professor & organic gardener” C., a Knoxville reviewer, wrote in a Yelp review.
The site of Opa of Greece stretches from River Street to Frazier just west of of Tremont Street. According to the Hamilton County Assessor’s office, the 280-square-foot building that houses the restaurant was built in 1945.
“We’ve got a great location next to Coolidge Park and starting out with a small location has been great to create a comfortable and personal restaurant,” Borodimos said. “But we want to serve more people.”
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.