Ones to Watch | By Sabrina
Davis
Mr. Greek Express
Other Mr. Greek Express traditional favorites include
gyros and the spanakopita (a spinach and feta pie
cooked in a light fillo pastry). The chain also
serves ribs and a variety of salads, pita sandwiches,
wraps, and burgers.
“Some of these things are not very Greek,” Raios
says, “but they’ve done well for us
in giving our customers an alternative. We have
customers that visit us four and five times a week.
For the last 19 years, I’ve been eating Mr.
Greek food three to five times a week—every
time is as good as the first time. The week that
I don’t want Mr. Greek food will mean it’s
time to sell the company and move on.”
Mr. Greek Express
CEO: George Raios
HQ: Toronto, Ontario
Year Started: 1988
Annual sales: Undisclosed
Total units: 22
Franchised units: 21
For now, moving on for Raios means accelerating
growth and crossing the border into the United
States. He hopes to have 100 units, a combination
of full-service and express units, under development
in the U.S. in the next three to four years. Forty-five
additional stores are planned in Ontario in the
next three years.
WHY IT BEARS
WATCHING: “In fast-casual,
Greek food is the next big thing,” Raios
says. “Look at Mexican, Asian,
and Italian. Everything is pretty much
overdone and saturated. People are ready
for an alternative.”
Raios isn’t alone in anticipating
growing interest in Greek food. Louis Pappas
Market Café, a QSR One to Watch in
March 2006, is growing in Florida and plans
to expand regionally, and Daphne’s Greek
Café is quickly expanding in California
and Arizona.
Raios’s experience gives him confidence
that he will lead the category in the United
States within a few years. “In just
a couple of years in Toronto, in GreekTown
where Greek food is everywhere, we became
a top restaurant with over $6.5 million in
annual sales,”
Raios says. Mr. Greek Express units serve
200 to 250 people a day, operating from 11
a.m. to 11 p.m. most days. The average check
is $8 to $10 at lunch and $12 to $15 at dinner.
Mr. Greek’s first U.S. location, in
Tacoma, Washington, opened in January. Two
additional full-service locations are planned
in Washington with express units expected
to follow. Mr. Greek and Mr. Greek Express
are also looking to expand in the Midwest
with particular emphasis on Ohio and Pennsylvania.
