Gyro heroes

For decades, the Terzopoulos family has run classic eatery G&D Pizzaria.

BY SOPHIA KOCH

Leo Terzopoulos

Alex have logged many hours in the G&D Pizzaria kitchen. The restaurant has been a local staple for over 50 years, with three generations of family ownership.

To learn what’s important to the owners of G&D Pizzaria, just look around their restaurant. The Terzopoulos family is well represented in photos that hang on the walls, along with pictures of Greece and Missouri, two of the places this family has called home. In the kitchen, Pano Terzopoulos helps his young grandson make a pizza to eat for lunch. During food prep time, the family listens to Greek music and goofs off while getting work done. It’s clear they enjoy each other’s company.

For nearly 50 years, the Terzopoulos family has invited customers into the welcoming atmosphere of their family-owned restaurant. Leo Terzopoulos, 28, is the third generation of the family to own the pizzeria. As a little kid, the restaurant was his playground. “This is my home away from home,” Leo Terzopoulos says. “I was raised in this restaurant for my family. I couldn’t pick another profession the way I see it.”

(From left) Leo Terzopoulos, Alex Terzopoulos and Matt Kertz operate G&D Pizzaria. Alex Terzopoulos’ son, Leo, and his nephew Kertz — along with family friend Rob Dolliver — recently became partial owners of the restaurant.

Terzopoulos and his cousin Matt Kertz, along with family friend Rob Dolliver, officially took partial ownership of the restaurant last year. Dolliver has known the Terzopoulos family since he was in junior high, and he started working for the pizzeria in 1985.

It runs in the family

George Terzopoulos, Leo’s great uncle, founded G&D Steakhouse in 1968 on Ninth Street. He and his brother-inlaw Gus Aslanidis then opened a second steakhouse on West Worley Street in 1970. The G&D in the names stand for George and Dino, George’s original business partner.

In 1977, George Terzopoulos’ neph- ews Alex and Pano Terzopoulos moved to Columbia from Katerini, Greece. The two brothers worked at G&D Steakhouse when they arrived in town. Two years later, in 1979, they opened G&D Pizzaria on West Broadway, and the second generation of Terzopouloses took over. Alex and Pano’s first cousins, Alex and Angelo Aslanidis, are the current owners of G&D Steakhouse, soon to be taken over by Alex Aslanidis’ son, Michael.

G&D means everything to Pano Terzopoulos. “It’s my life,” he says. “I’ve spent more time here than anywhere.” But after years of hard work, raising their families and making their business a place that felt like home, the brothers decided to pass along ownership. Alex’s son, Leo Terzopoulos, stepped in and became the third generation of family owners. “I’ve been working my whole life like an owner,” Leo Terzopoulos says. “(I’ve) never not treated this place like my future.”

G&D today

Alex and Pano Terzopoulos still work consistently at the pizzeria as the new owners continue to uphold the family traditions: valuing each customer and being consistent in recipes and restaurant style.

From prime rib sandwiches to make-your-own pizzas, the menu has a wide selection. Greek offerings include gyros, Greek salads and souvlaki. A personal pizza with a choice of toppings is a classic order, along with specials named after Alex and Pano — Alex’s features black olives, green peppers and ham while Pano’s has ground beef, green peppers, onions and mushrooms. The restaurants also sell imported products from Greece, including olive oil, honey and feta.

“I have elderly people come up to me who have been customers for 40 years, and they keep preaching to me, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing; don’t change it,’ because people like consistency,” Leo Terzopoulos says. Lisa Bailey, a local customer at G&D Pizzaria, says she

Matt Kertz helps a customer pay their bill at G&D Pizzaria. Kertz started working at the pizzeria in 2015 when he moved to Columbia from Greece.

2101 W. Broadway, 445-8336, 11a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday–Saturday G&D Steakhouse 2001 W. Worley St., 445-3504, 11a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday–Sunday has always felt welcomed at the restaurant and the food is consistently good.

Part-owner Kertz says the homey atmosphere helps. “It’s like going over to your grandma’s house for dinner, and it’s just a home environment,” Kertz says. “It’s very close knit.”

Alex and Pano Terzopoulos spent day in and day out with their family for 40 years. Dolliver, Kertz and Leo Terzopoulos will continue to grow what Alex and Pano served for decades.

Some people might think it would be tiresome to work with your family. Lucky for Columbia, the Terzopoulos family does not.