The parking lot at Acropolis Mediterranean Grill is full at 2 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon. It’s not a special event, there’s no celebrity in the dining room and yet the tables are brimming with families, couples, solo diners and staff who greet regulars by name.
Some guests sit at the same tables every time they visit – a ritual that feels less like routine and more like enjoying a meal at a second home.
For the Kyriakidis family, which opened Acropolis Grill in 1995, that feeling of home is the foundation of everything they do.
“It’s not just about feeding your body,” says Lexie Kyriakidis, the third generation of her family to step into the restaurant’s day-to-day operations. “It’s about feeding your soul.”
Lexie is the daughter of Savas Kyriakidis, an Army JAG officer and one of the restaurant’s co-owners. Her uncle, Nick Kyriakidis, runs the restaurant as general manager. Their matriarch, Betty Kyriakidis – affectionately called “Yaiyai” – still comes in regularly, even at age 81, to make the restaurant’s signature bread and keep an eye on operations.
Lexie, 27, leads the restaurant’s social media and plays a major role in the launch of new initiatives.
This year marks Acropolis Grill’s 30th anniversary, but the story begins much earlier – in 1951, when a young man named Teddy Kyriakidis left Greece with two dollars in his pocket and not a word of English.
Building a legacy
Teddy’s story reads like a classic American immigrant tale. During the German occupation of Greece, his family survived by selling produce on the black market. When he arrived in New Jersey, he followed the only trade he knew – food.
He started working in diners – first as a dishwasher, then as a cook – and eventually purchased a restaurant in Asbury Park. It was there he met Betty, a young Southern woman from Georgia who’d come to the Jersey Shore to waitress. She didn’t know a Danish from a hard roll, but she learned fast – and she and Teddy fell in love.
Teddy acquired a diner in 1968, and in the early 1980s – seeking a better life for their children – he and Betty moved the family to Chattanooga. They opened Little Athens in East Ridge, where they introduced the community to authentic Greek and Italian cuisine. Thirteen years later, the family closed Little Athens and opened Acropolis Grill near Hamilton Place Mall.
“It was a big leap,” Nick recalls. “We went from our little corner in East Ridge to competing with national chains in a major commercial district. Everyone told my dad, ‘You won’t make it out there with the big dogs.’ But [30 years later], we’re still here.”
Heart of the operation
Teddy died in 2012 at the age of 82, having worked in the restaurant until almost his final year – despite battling Parkinson’s disease. “Hospitality was in his blood,” says Nick. “What kept him going was being able to touch tables and talk to guests.”
It’s a connection Nick and Lexie are determined to preserve.
“We all have devices. We’re more connected than ever, but we feel more disconnected,” Nick muses. “That old-world connectedness over food – sitting down with family, breaking bread – is still important. Hopefully, people feel like this is the next best thing to their own family table.”
Much of that experience comes from hospitality that feels personal. Staff members know many guests by name – or at least by their favorite dish. “Sometimes you might forget a name, but you never forget the guest who always orders grape leaves and sits at table seven,” Nick says.
Lexie remembers peering over the kitchen counter and helping her grandmother braid loaves of bread. Her first memory of her grandfather is watching him filet a massive fish in the kitchen.
“This place was never just a job or a business,” she says. “It was – and still is – a second home.”
Adapting without compromising
Acropolis Grill has changed over the years. The once hand-written tickets are now digital orders; online menus are a must. The interior has been renovated more than once, and new items – some fusion-inspired, others locally sourced – have joined the menu.
But the Kyriakidis family remains passionately committed to certain fundamentals: real food, fresh ingredients and traditional hospitality.
Nick, who formerly owned Niko’s Southside Grill, takes pride in sourcing many ingredients from local farms. They prepare fish in-house, use fresh herbs and spices, and rotate seasonal vegetables to ensure every dish is as fresh as possible.
“You don’t have to reinvent the wheel for today’s diners,” Nick says. “Greek food isn’t complicated.”
The commitment to fresh, simple ingredients shines in signature dishes like the lemon chicken with capers, sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes, or the eggplant Napoleon – a layered vegetarian favorite that captures the Mediterranean spirit while catering to modern tastes.
There’s also a robust bourbon selection that surprises many guests. “It’s not traditionally Greek,” Nick admits, “but it’s a passion of ours – and our customers love it.”
A new generation
Lexie, who studied economics in college, returned to the family business in 2023. At the time, she wasn’t sure if she’d stay long-term, but she quickly found herself drawn into the work.
“It was like coming home,” she says. “There’s so much history here, and so many people who count on us – not just the staff, but also the families who come here week after week.”
Lexie is helping to usher in the restaurant’s latest expansion: a grab-and-go café and bakery launching this summer. Opening at 7:30 a.m., the café will offer lattes, Greek coffee, breakfast bites and what she calls “Baklava granola” – a homemade blend of honey, nuts and spices meant to pair with Greek yogurt.
She’s also curating an event for July 15 where guests can learn to roll baklava and spanakopita, the traditional Greek spinach and cheese pie. The following Saturday, her grandmother will throw the ceremonial first pitch at a Lookouts game in honor of the restaurant’s 30th anniversary.
“I hope I can live up to the legacy,” Lexie says. “There’s a quote I love: ‘We stand on the shoulders of giants.’ That’s how I feel about my parents and grandparents.”
More than a meal
The Kyriakidis family believes that passing down the family meal is a sacred tradition – a way of keeping their culture and connection alive. “In Greece, meals aren’t quiet or refined. They’re messy and loud,” Nick says. “That’s what we try to recreate here – not just the food, but also the feeling, so the next generation understands what it means to gather.”
The Chattanooga community seems to be getting it. Customers who once sat in high chairs now bring their own children. Families gather here for birthdays, graduations and, in one case, more than 40 straight years of birthday dinners – first at Little Athens, then at Acropolis.
When the pandemic forced the restaurant to close temporarily, guests rallied to support it with takeout orders and heartfelt messages.
“That’s when it became real,” Nick says. “People were scared, but they still came. They still wanted to support us. That’s something I’ll never forget.”
Looking ahead
So, what’s next as the Kyriakidis family eyes its 40th anniversary?
Nick says the family is considering a second location – perhaps a smaller concept that builds on the Acropolis brand. Lexie hopes to continue the community outreach and educational events. But both say the core mission won’t change.
“This restaurant started because my grandfather didn’t want his family to go to bed hungry,” Lexie says. “Now, we feed hundreds of people every day.”
It’s been 30 years since Teddy Kyriakidis opened Acropolis Grill with little more than his apron and his ambition. And yet mealtime still feels like it’s just getting started.