Christos Minnetonka

Christos Minnetonka To Close Jan 10th

A message to our Minnetonka customers:

It is with a heavy heart that I share with you our plan to close our Minnetonka restaurant on Sunday, January 10.  It’s been an exciting if not exhausting fourteen years.  We’ve met wonderful people from all walks of life and from all corners of the western suburbs.  We’ve catered wedding receptions and rehearsal dinners, retirements, life celebrations, bar and bat mitzvahs, graduations, birthdays, office parties, and more.  We’ve been in your homes, your offices, your places of worship, your schools, parks and community centers.  We’ve watched your children and grandchildren expand their culinary horizons  as they grew and developed in front of our eyes.  We’ve shared with you our culture and along with it our food which is an integral part of it.

Along the way, we commiserated with you about the often sad state of affairs in Minnesota sports.  We discussed the food you tasted on your travels and told you about our trips to the homeland. Many of you joined us on our Mediterranean cruises.  We traded gardening tips.  We argued over the way the country is run.  Through it all, we came to understand each other better, and became friends.

But time is marching on, and if I am ever to write about the adventures of my thirty-three years as a restauranteur, or shoot pictures around the Aegean for our Minneapolis Christos dining room and the forthcoming Christos cookbook, or develop new dishes and gather fresh ideas from my large family in Cyprus, I must make room in my calendar.

The pandemic hastened the decision to downsize.  Restrictions were imposed, rules changed, and the flow of our business was disrupted in ways that made a very hard job even harder.  Much of that burden fell on my shoulders.  After much deliberation, we entered into an agreement with a local restaurant group to sell the property.  I will share more about the new owners later.  Suffice it to say that I think this is a fine group, and you’ll like what they have to offer.

But I’m not going far.  My wife, Carol, our chef and business partner, Mohamed and I will focus our attention on our original Christos on Nicollet Avenue South in Minneapols.  We will continue to conduct our off-premise business out of there as well.  So, if you miss me, you can find me there working the floor, welcoming guests and giving them the personal attention they have become accustomed to at Christos.  I will be delighted to see you.

I want to thank you for your loyalty, your friendship, and your amazing generosity.  Our staff are immensely grateful as well.  Your support and understanding made the challenges of 2020 seem less daunting for all of us.

Carol, Mohamed and I will never forget the kindness with which we were received by the people of Minnetonka.  I personally consider it a privilege to have had the opportunity to serve you.

 

Gus Parpas

A NOTE TO OUR CUSTOMERS