NICK FLEVOTOMAS, OLYMPIA RESTAURANT

The passing of Dr. Steve Georgiou has repercussions throughout Greektown—he’s known, affectionately, as ‘Mr. Greektown’ by friends and supporters (and these number in the thousands).  But nowhere is better eulogized than with his lifelong comrade and business partner Nick Flevotomas.

“He loved to be Greek,” said Nick, sitting in a booth of Greektown’s landmark Olympia Restaurant, which he’d owned with Dr. Steve since 1983.  “He showed in nearly everything he did.  Greektown was his favorite project—he made it special and continued, to the last days of his life, to make it even better.  Over the years, he donated his time and energies in helping the Greek community, both socially and through his medical practice.”

Flevotomas first met Dr. Steve more than fifty years ago, on his native island of Cypress.

Olympia Restaurant will carry on without Dr. Steve, though his legacy will remain at the forefront of the establishment’s mission.  Another tradition which will continue in his memory will be the yearly Las Vegas reunions, in which up to twenty members of both Dr. Steve’s and Nick Flevotomas’ family gather in the resort city for a little well-earned R and R.  “He’d have expected us to go this year; we’d made all the arrangements.  I was so hoping he’d make one last trip with us, he was so energetic and active, even to the end.”

Olympia has been a cornerstone restaurant in Greektown since its inception, featuring a wide array of specialties, both Greek and continental European.  Among the favorites are lamb chops, shish kabob, mousaka and the signature saganaki, of which Flevotomas points out, “That’s strictly an American invention, believe it or not.  They don’t do flaming cheese ‘Opa’ in Greece!”