MORE THAN MEATS THE EYE

Athens Grill is located between a gas station and a strip mall. Based on the name, you’d expect gyros and a Greek salad to be on the menu. And you’d be right.

But this Waunakee restaurant, co-owned by Andy Ziegler and the Ladopoulos family (Nick Ladopoulos, Mary Layoun and their sons Kyo and Odysseus) has a few revelations that more people should know about.

First, in addition to classic Greek fare, Athens Grill also offers burgers, mac and cheese, a weekly pizza night (Wednesdays) and fish fry (Fridays). The bar has over 200 bourbons and rye whiskeys available for pouring and 16 rotating craft brew taps. These aren’t the only well-kept secrets.

There’s an onsite bakery, where Ziegler’s brother George Ziegler oversees making all the hamburger buns, baked desserts and pizzas. (A full line of gluten-free bakery items is supplied by MYBREAD in Racine.)

In the basement, a USDA-certified meat processing facility purchases US-raised beef and lamb to make all-natural gyro cones that are distributed across the region. (The recipe was created by Athens Grill former operating owner Gus Kyriakopoulos.) And adding to their meat dynasty, Athens just acquired Knoche’s of Middleton, taking over their meat processing and wholesale accounts.

Adjacent to the restaurant’s order counter is a small shop that sells Athens’ house-made tzatziki and hummus, along with take-and-bake pizzas, gyro kits, craft beer, pints of frozen yogurt and bottles of bourbon.

There are also milkshakes and rotating frozen yogurt flavors like peach, salted caramel and strawberry dream that you can pick up at the drive-thru window with your order.

The Ladopoulos family and their former business partner Kyriakopoulos started Athens Gyros inside the gas station next door in 2006.

In 2016, when the gas station changed hands and Kyriakopoulos decided to retire, the Ladopouloses weren’t sure what to do next. They decided to call Ziegler, Odysseus Ladopoulos’ close friend.

Ziegler grew up as an honorary member of the family, even traveling with them to Greece many summers. He is also a chef who developed his skills in fine dining establishments in Madison and eventually Colorado. Ziegler was searching for a way back to Wisconsin. He came on as a partner to spearhead the development and building of the soon-to-be Athens Grill in the building next door (which was designed to be a bank, complete with drive-thru window).

The menu is made up of familiar foods, but Ziegler makes sure what you put in your mouth is better than what you’re anticipating from a fast-casual restaurant. His philosophy is “real food prepared by hand, using fresh ingredients that everyone can afford.” He takes a fine-dining approach to food when it comes to quality and preparation, but the cost is economical and the presentation isn’t fussy.

He keeps pricing in check with vertical integration (processing their own meat and baking their own bread), smart sourcing and excellent vendor relationships. As for quality, everything is processed and made in house, according to their recipes. Cheese doesn’t arrive pre-shredded, and tomatoes aren’t purchased already chopped.

Ziegler sources from local producers and farmers whenever he can. Vegetables, like cucumbers and tomatoes, are purchased from local farms in the summer and acquired through a relationship with Jenifer Street Market in winter. Cheese comes from Carr Valley and Capri Cheese.

Ziegler worked closely with Country View Dairy in Iowa (a farmstead yogurt company) to develop the exact texture and flavor profile for the saucy Greek-style yogurt used to make their tzatziki. His menu and kitchen are carefully planned to execute well-made dishes at lightning speed. For example, Athens’ mac-and-cheese sauce is actually made from real cheese and milk (instead of processed cheese), but using a modernist cuisine technique, it can be held hot without separating and an order can be out the door in minutes. His “pick up” for any order averages three minutes (that’s restaurant jargon for how long it takes for an order to be made). That’s really fast. McDonald’s averages three to five minutes per order.

Ziegler sticks to the classics on the menu and the bar, because that’s what his customers want. “I let our customers dictate the product, but I’m building a product that is better than what they’re expecting. My biggest idea for Athens Grill is that our menu is made with the same love and care that fine food is, but deliv ered in an approachable way, at a price point where people can afford to eat here more than once a week.”

Along with well-sourced and well-made food, customers can enjoy their meal at an incredibly well-stocked bar. The Athens team realized after opening that folks were looking to sit and enjoy a drink with their meal, so they expanded the physical bar to accommodate more people. Craft beer was always a focus, and Athens’ 16 rotating taps feature local and regional breweries like Working Draft, Delta Beer Lab, Toppling Goliath, Half Acre and Revolution.

The bourbon program is a personal passion of Ziegler’s. When the pandemic hit and Athens shut down their indoor dining, Ziegler became the bartender in charge of purchasing and began stocking up on hard-to-find bottles when no one else was buying them. He still has some of these today, but also has developed relationships that allow him to get coveted bottles like Old Fitzgerald 17-year and 19-year and the Heritage Collection from Heaven Hill. He launched the Bourbon Republic in 2022, a bourbon club that meets quarterly and has an annual trip to Kentucky to choose a barrel with partner distilleries.

Ziegler credits the success of Athens Grill not only to the recipes and deep bar, but also their employees. There are 26 employees, led by a core group that has been with him for years (gyro master Pedro Jimenez has worked there for 16 years). Having little turnover in managerial positions is unusual in the industry and makes it easier to maintain high quality standards.

And here’s the real secret of Athens Grill: Whether you’re zipping through the drive-thru for house-made gyros, salad and frozen yogurt, or bellying up to the bar for a rare bourbon, Athens Grill is not your typical fast-food gyro joint. Yes, you will get your food quickly and at an affordable price. But the recipes are original, the ingredients thoughtfully sourced, and everything from the gyro meat to the pizza crusts are made on-site, from scratch.

Top: Handmade frozen pizzas available every day in the marketplace.

Bottom: Bourbon tasting flight.

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