The owners of The Greeks of Peaks (instagram) food truck have leased the former Baharat/Full Turn space in East Bayside where they plan to open a contemporary Greek taverna-style restaurant. Founder Nancy Klosteridis and business partner Emily Otero have begun renovations and hope to open the restaurant in the spring.
The as-yet-to-be-named establishment will be open for both lunch and dinner. Lunch service will hew close to the food truck menu with fast casual favorites like gyros and lamb burgers.
In the evenings the restaurant will serve a menu of elevated contemporary dishes and drinks that make use of traditional Greek cooking methods and flavors while exhibiting some flexibility to fit the food and beverage program into the context of the Portland restaurant scene. They’ll be tapping into Klosteridis’ family recipes and taste memories as a guide.
The menu will scale from mezze to family-style meals and will include items for vegetarian and vegan customers. The nightly 4-item dessert menu which will include dialed-in traditional desserts like baklava with gluten-free options.
The beverage program will include a full bar with draft beer, a wine list that focuses on producers from Greece and Eastern Europe, and a cocktail menu that features ingredients like mastic and rosemary that bring the flavors of Greece into the cocktail glass. Wines will be available by the glass, carafe or bottle.
The new floor plan opens up room around the bar, creates a lounge area, and pushes back the wall along in the dining room for 10-seat banquette. Overall the design aims to deliver on a European-style cafe feel with a touch of the white and blue motif Greece is known for melded with wood and warmer tones.
The weather is what set Otero and Klosteridis down the path of looking at restaurant real estate. A powerful thunderstorm last August crushed the food truck on Peaks and this past June’s rainy weather made running an outdoor business especially challenging. The former Baharat spot was on the market at just the right time to make the transition to brick and mortar a possibility.
The funds raised from the community to replace the Peaks Island Greeks of Peaks food truck have been reserved and earmarked for continuing to serve the Peaks Island community. The remaining Greeks of Peaks food truck is expected to make it out to the island sometime in 2024.
Stay tuned to the Greeks of Peaks instagram account Magissa instagram account for additional news on the restaurant: final name selection (they have some really great ideas they’re choosing from), progress on the build out and key staff hires.
To get caught up on all the new restaurants, bars, breweries, bakeries and other hospitality businesses in development visit the Under Construction List.
UPDATED: The restaurant will be named Mágissa (instagram).