CANTON, Ohio — Athens Restaurant, a popular mom-and-pop Greek diner in Canton, is closing after 50 years in business.
Behind all the sizzle, savory food—including stuffed peppers, Greek lasagna and many desserts— there is a stirring senior citizen cook who gets the day going at Athens.
"I cook every single day," said 87-year-old Maria Kararsarides, who prefers to go by Yaya, "Every single day."
Yaya goes to work every day the restaurant is open and starts cooking. She said she has never missed a day of work in nearly 50 years.
She moved to Canton from Greece with her husband Ted Kararsarides in the 1960's. Together, they opened Athens in the 1970's. Ted passed away in 1998, and the Greek restaurant has stood the test of time.
Yaya and Ted's daughter, Dee Dwyer, now owns Athens. It's the only place she has ever worked.
"It's a great place. It's a place people have grown up in. I grew up here. I started when I was 14 and it's just hard," Dwyer said.
She said it's hard because she has decided to close the Canton community staple after five decades of serving customers who feel more like family.
Dwyer said she wants to spend more time with her actual family.
"I'm here 12 hours a day. It's time to just slow down a little bit," Dwyer said. "My mom is 87. It's time for us to just go home. We're not going to travel the world. We're going home."
For customers, the news is tough to swallow because to them, Athens feels like a home away from home.
"I was crushed because I've been coming here one to two times a week for years," said Judi McKinney, a regular at the restaurant.
For Yaya, it's especially hard. But the family will also hold onto the memories.
"Memories— special, special," she said.
It has been fifty years of Greek goodness that made so many people so happy.
The last day will be Christmas Eve, and Dwyer wants people to know, "I'm only a phone call away if you need me. That's it."
In a social media message to customers, the owners said they will "miss conversations across the counter, the laughter, the hugs and the love." They also reminded customers to use gift certificates by Dec. 24.
