Greek Restaurant Revival
Ziziki's restaurant in Travis Walk welcomes new blood and revamped brunch
More than 20 years after opening, Ziziki's Restaurant and Bar in Travis Walk has changed its ownership situation. Founders Mary and Costa Arabatzis have welcomed new partners, who will help them expand.
Spokesperson Lori Barber says that the Arabatzises have partnered with Dorota Stachowiak, an ardent customer who loves Greek food.
"They see a huge need and shortage of Greek restaurants in Dallas," Barber says. "Costa and Mary are still involved in doing everything they have been doing."
Their first expansion is a new brunch menu they'll introduce next week. They're also doing some throwback items.
"We're testing bringing back some of the old dishes like the Greek gods platter," Barber says. "We just want to keep the restaurant true to its original mission of serving Greek and Italian cuisine in a contemporary, neighborhood bistro setting at a moderate price."
While Dallas-Fort Worth has a range of Middle-Eastern dining options, Ziziki's was among the area's few Greek restaurants when it opened in Travis Walk in 1994. The Arabatzises have dabbled in expansion, with mixed results. In 1999, they opened a second branch at Preston and Forest, which they still own. They opened a third branch in Plano on 2009; in 2011, it became a franchise.
They opened a sister concept called Volos Taverna in Addison in January 2010, serving tapas, but it changed to a Ziziki's a few months later. In March 2014, it was taken over by chef Richard Silva, who has turned it into a New American restaurant called Z Taverna.
The Arabatzises also opened The Greek at One Arts Plaza in 2013; it closed abruptly in March 2014.
As for Stachowiak, she has family who've owned Greek restaurants in Montreal. "We love the food and we love the place, it feels like Mediterranean Europe," Dorota says.
