Before tourists were aware of our city’s amazing cuisine from watching Food Network, before Forrest Gump and other timeless silver screen favorites made Savannah’s architecture and squares famous, and before tours based on “The book” Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil drew visitors to the city, River Street was known as the focal point of any visit to Savannah.
Tourism certainly wasn’t as big as it is now, and River Street drew many visitors from ships entering the ports.
Vasilis Varlagas and his partner Nick Pappas arrived in Savannah in May 1991 with another business in mind. He noticed while walking on River Street that the building with only one small window and one small door where Olympia Cafe now resides was vacant and up for auction. They called the lawyer who was managing the sale, who happened to be Greek, and found out that it was owned by the city of Savannah.
They had to have it.
Eleven months later, the building that had once been a pirate museum opened its doors as Olympia Cafe.
Now in their 29th year on River Street, Olympia Cafe is one of the longest-operating restaurants on the waterfront. So, with the recent news of so many other long-standing establishments closing, what is the secret to staying open and maintaining a reputation of excellence?
“It’s really hard. For me, you need to work hard in any business. You need to have good employees and work together.” says Varlagas. The restaurant and the hospitality business requires employees to be happy, smile, like the customers and genuinely enjoy coming to work.”
“People are coming in to sit down, eat, and enjoy their time together, and it’s important for the employees to maintain an attitude of service to the customers. While the restaurant serves many visitors and tourists, the goal of the staff is to inspire patrons to come back many times.”
That energy is contagious. When the owners are on the floor (which is most of the time) the energy is contagious. It would be incredibly stereotypical to compare Nick or Vasilis to that gregarious uncle we all have, but that is who they are. Making sure that every guest is not only happy, but having a wonderful experience.
When asked whether it was easier to run the restaurant with less competition or now with so many options for dining downtown, Varlagas replied that competition is good, but the focus has always been on maintaining the quality of his business. Quality is good for the city and it brings the customers back. Many customers come from all over the United States and often come back, create family traditions and return home to make a recommendation to their friends.
Loyal customers return year after year to celebrate milestones such as birthdays and anniversaries. Customers get engaged and return to celebrate anniversaries—and why not? Olympia Cafe is a romantic restaurant, with its old world Mediterranean decor and sweeping view of the Savannah River.
Attention to food quality and authenticity of ingredients is a very important part of the continued success of the restaurant. While the olive oil is brought in from Greece, most ingredients are sourced locally and have been since the restaurant’s opening—long before the words “fresh and local” were buzzwords on the food scene.
During their nearly 3 decade run, they’ve been honored with several local awards for culinary excellence in Savannah. Including an Eat It and Like It Foodie Award for “Best Place to Eat on River Street”
Greek and Mediterranean food lends itself easily to today’s trends towards healthy eating, and as such the menu has remained nearly the same for the past 29 years, while still catering to modern customer demand for items such as gluten-free dishes or other special requests.
While the Greek specialties are very popular, customer favorites are hands-down the fresh local seafood that has remained a staple on the menu. Calls are made weekly to local suppliers to find the freshest seafood available. This has been a normal part of operation since the restaurant opened, making Olympia Cafe one of the very first restaurants in Savannah to have a fresh and local menu, long before it became trendy.
So, what is unique about the menu at Olympia Cafe? It’s probably the only place in Savannah to find local, very fresh, Mediterranean-style seafood created from authentic Greek recipes that have been handed down through the generations.
While there is plenty of fried shrimp and hush puppies to be found in Savannah, you’d be hard pressed to find a beautiful fresh Red Snapper roasted to perfection and hand-filleted table side for two. The sautéed Grouper with lamb gravy is another favorite house specialty. Large domestic lamb chops are brought in fresh from Jacksonville or Atlanta and marinated for days.
And of course who doesn’t love some delicious spanakopita?
Of course, beyond the food, it’s the smiles and the friendship that keep the locals coming back. It is not uncommon to find a dining room full of locals on a Tuesday night at Olympia. That’s tough to say on River Street. But Olympia is just that popular.
You won’t find too many bachelorette parties perfectly posed for brunch. You won’t find Instagram follower tickers hanging on the wall. You won’t even find oversized drinks that require 4 people just to order them. No, you will only find good food and drink in a family atmosphere. Olympia has been all about it since day one.
If you haven’t been to River Street for awhile because you thought it was “tourist territory”, a visit to Olympia Cafe is long past due and well worth it.
You will Eat It and Like It.
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