The restaurant has won many local awards for its extensive, hand-made Greek and American menu offerings, and Ververis has always been the woman greeting customers at the cash register or talking to them through the kitchen window.
She moved from Aridea, Greece to Middletown in 1975, got married, raised her two children, then once she became “bored at home,” started working at Grecian Delight in 1996. She waited until her children graduated from high school.
“I was ready to go to work,” she said.
She didn’t expect to work at Grecian Delight for long, but purchased the business one year later, and as she said: “I never left.”
Now 69, Ververis isn’t saying when she’s retiring.
Dimitri Ververis, her husband of 50 years, called her retirement date the “million dollar question.”
She has come “very, very close” to hanging up for apron several times, she said.
“There will come a day when I wake up and say, ‘I’m done,’” she said. “This is a big part of my life. You get tired as you get older. But something always brings me back.”
Or someone.
Those who walk through the door aren’t just customers, they’re family. She knows their names, their family history and what they typically order.
“In small business you make friendships,” she said. “You get to know your customers. They love to come in here and talk about their families, their problems.”
She credits loyal customers for supporting the business through the years. That was never more evident than after Grecian Delight closed for 10 weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
When it reopened, the customers quickly returned and many offered the couple cash to keep the business open, her husband said.
“Very good people have supported us,” she said. “I can’t ask for more.”
When Ververis started cooking at Grecian Delight, one of the largest challenges was determining daily how much food to prepare. She was used to cooking at home for her husband and their two children, Kosta and Lisa.
“The first years they were tough,” she said. “Then I cooked and cooked morning to night.”
Ververis remembers early on when a few customers walked in the restaurant at closing time. An employee told them the restaurant was closed, so they walked away.
That hasn’t happen since she became owner.
“There are other places for them to get a hamburger,” she said. “You can turn them away or serve them and be polite.”
Grecian Delight closes for two weeks every July. Earlier this week, that didn’t stop the phone from ringing, and one customer walking up to the counter, despite a “closed” sign posted on the front door.
Dimitri Ververis smiled when the man said he didn’t see the sign.
“They feel comfortable here,” he said. “Small business is different. Friendship goes a long way.”
HOW TO GO
WHAT: Grecian Delight Middletown
WHERE: 1300 Cincinnati Dayton Road, Middletown.
HOURS: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday.
PHONE: 513-424-5411
WEB SITE: www.greciandelightmiddletown.com
LEADING LADIES OF BUTLER COUNTY
This is part of a series of stories featuring women in Butler County who shape their communities. The women are leading small and large businesses, institutions and organizations. Suggestions for people to feature may be emailed to journalnews@coxinc.com.
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