Family-owned Greektown fave bids ‘adio’
After 33 years of ‘beautiful memories,’ Pappas Grill leaves Danforth foodies ‘devastated’
With the weather warming up, this would normally be prime season for Pappas Grill, with their Danforth Avenue patio packed with customers nibbling on grilled octopus or enjoying the flash of flame as a plate of saganaki is brought to their table.
Instead, the patio, dining room and kitchen sit silent and empty, another neighbourhood institution gone for good because of COVID-19. The Klianis family, which opened Pappas in 1987, announced this week that they won’t be reopening.
“It is with sadness and a sense of changing times that we write this letter. After great consideration, we made the
difficult decision to permanently close our doors following the government mandated closure due to COVID-19,” the family wrote in a letter posted to the restaurant’s Facebook page.
The letter thanked staff for their dedication and customers both new and old.
“We have built beautiful memories together that will last us a lifetime.
“However, as much as we love Pappas, and seeing you walk through our doors, the most difficult decision was imposed upon us during these unprecedented times to move on,” the letter said.
Restaurant general manager John Klianis said the family wouldn’t be commenting further at the moment.
Mary Fragedakis, a lifelong resident of the area and executive director of the Greektown on the Danforth Business Improvement Area, said the news of Pappas’s closing came as a heavy blow.
“I was devastated. The family told me, and we had a good cry on the sidewalk out front,” Fragedakis said, adding she’d been a longtime patron of Pappas.
Fragedakis, a former city councillor, worries that Pappas won’t be the only permanent COVID-related closing among the string of independent restaurants and shops along the usually bustling Danforth.
“These are the kind of places that made Greektown. These small, family-owned places. The life we knew has changed. What’s this city and this area going to look like?” Fragedakis said.
As the economy gradually reopens from COVID-related restrictions, restaurants and bars will be among the last to get the green light. Government programs designed to help businesses weather the storm have only been partly successful, Fragedakis says.
The biggest problem? The Canadian Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CERCA) program, which hasn’t even started doling out funds yet. And when it does, most landlords won’t apply for the subsidy, meaning their tenants won’t get the promised 75 per cent break on rent.
“I haven’t had one single person, landlord or tenant, say anything good about the rent subsidy program. It’s not even running yet. While they’re considering and tweaking, places are closing,” Fragedakis said.
Meanwhile, news of Pappas’s closing came as a deep disappointment to the restaurant’s legions of loyal customers, many of whom took to social media.
“So sad. I have been a supplier, an employee, and a customer … the Danforth won’t be the same without all of you,” Donna-Marie Virzi wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
“Oh so sad also. I was looking forward to visiting your restaurant once things finally opened up. You were on the top of my list,” chimed in Lorrie Graves.