Big Greek expansion

Newlyweds and new Americans Emmanuel and Kalliopi Ameres, natives of Greece, began a four-decade restaurant odyssey with a spatula and a broom in the 1970s.

“They didn't speak a lick of English,” says George Ameres, one of the couple's four children. “They started at the bottom and did what they had to do.”

For Emmanuel Ameres, a onetime cook in the Greek Navy, that meant a start flipping burger patties at a Brown Derby restaurant in Cleveland. His wife, who goes by Popi (pronounced Pope-y) cleaned bathrooms and restaurant floors. “They chased the American dream,” says George Ameres. “They wanted to have a family and give their kids the best opportunities they could.”