On March 17, downtown Phoenix’s Cityscape (1 E. Washington St.) added a new restaurant to its list of diverse dining options: Nick the Greek.
Nick the Greek, a chain restaurant from Northern California, got its start when three cousins, all named Nick, decided to bring traditional Greek food to the West Coast.
“The story starts with three cousins named Nick: Big Nick, Little Nick and Baby Nick,” Rob Crider, Nick The Greek’s corporate communications manager said. “Baby Nick visited their home country of Greece and decided he was going to bring the flavors of home to Northern California.”
The new Cityscape location is the first location in Arizona and the franchise’s 53rd location.
Opening the restaurant did not come without challenges.
“Construction was a very difficult process,” said Rani Bains, mother of one of the owners. “Same with getting the permits and things like that, there were definitely some roadblocks along the way.”
Bains said she was “extremely thankful” that they were able to overcome these challenges and play a role in bringing Greek food to Arizona.
“Our food is fresh and flavorful, we ship in new produce for our food so that it has a fresh taste. I hope to just bring something new to the table and hope to expand people’s palettes,” said Bains.
Dozens of people stood in line for Nick The Greek’s grand opening. The restaurant made the opening festive with a Nick the Greek backdrop by the door, encouraging customers to take photos. A rainbow of blue, silver, and white balloons towered over the front doors and employees stood outside, greeting customers with free Greek yogurt samples.
The menu, given to attendees as a brochure while they stood in line, was filled with diverse options. Listed were different types of gyros, gyro-inspired bowls, pita sandwiches, salads and desserts such as baklava.
“I really want to try the chicken pita or chicken gyro today,” customer Lamar Banks said. “I’m a huge fan of Greek food. I’m glad they’re adding something new around here, not just the usual Chipotle or Five Guys or whatever.”
Customers were lining up to get various items from the menu at the restaurant and most seemed to enjoy their food.
“I had the gyro and it was super good and not messy at all,” customer Anthony Scarmack said. “(Usually) when I have a gyro I’m okay with not having another one for a while, but after this one I wanted to go back for seconds!”
Behind the scenes, the restaurant operates much like the other casual dining restaurants that are established inside of Cityscape.
A week after the grand opening, business still seems to be going well for the new Greek restaurant. It attracts a decent lunch crowd from local businesses and a good amount of students.
“The food is really good, every employee is very nice, and I love the atmosphere,” returning customer Pedro Rojo said. “I love that they still have physical menus.”
Nick the Greek is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and until 10 p.m. on Sunday.
Contact the reporter at sbradl23@asu.edu
