Greektown restaurant Spitiko Taverna celebrates first year as Monroe Street construction wraps up

After a year of construction, the Greektown streetscape is complete, just in time for the holiday season.

For one family-owned restaurant on Monroe Street, that milestone also marks the end of a challenging first year.

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Greektown restaurant Spitiko Taverna celebrates 1 year as Monroe Street construction ends

Spitiko Taverna opened shortly before construction began. The restaurant's owners endured the work outside their doors while building a business centered on authentic Greek food and a the family's dream of operating a restaurant in the heart of Greektown.

Spitiko in Greek means like home, co-owner Efthymia Effie Melistas said.

Melistas said the restaurant was designed to give customers the cozy feeling of being welcomed into someone's home. But opening in Greektown was especially meaningful for her father and co-owner, George Melistas.

To be honest, it's my dad's dream because we have also another restaurant in Eastpointe, she said. He was like, You know what? I want to be in Greektown, and I was like, OK, let's do that.

That family connection carries into the kitchen.

George Melistas prepared a spread that included calamari, souvlaki and pork chops as 7 News Detroit's Tony Geftos joined the family behind the scenes.

We're gonna make some right now calamari and some appetizers, George Melistas said. I got us some souvlakis in the charbroil, and I have some, uh, pork chops.

The meal continued at the table, where the menu included charbroiled octopus, dolmades, tarama and freshly prepared calamari.

After weathering a year of construction, the family behind Spitiko Taverna is looking ahead to welcoming more customers to Monroe Street and sharing the Greek food and hospitality behind its name.

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