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The Auroran https://www.newspapers-online.com/auroran/jonathans-owner-hangs-up-apron-after-25-years/ Export date: Sat Jan 17 5:33:44 2026 / +0000 GMT |
Jonathan's owner hangs up apron after 25 years By Brock Weir As Jonathan's Restaurant marks 25 years in business this year, owner Mary Georgopoulos is looking back on a quarter century of friendship, laughter, dancing on tables, and giving back to the community. 25 years on, however, and countless meals served, plates smashed, Greek dances performed, and local charities helped, Ms. Georgopoulos knows when to hang up the apron. This will be the last month Mary will be at the front of the restaurant, pending the sale of the popular eatery later this month. Having started the restaurant with her father in 1989 with a vision of providing a family dining establishment in Aurora with a Greek twist, it was a difficult decision to make, but her father, whether he knew it or not, instilled in her a sense of knowing when to stop and smell the roses. “As a life lesson, my dad retired and became ill shortly after and didn't really get a chance,” she explains. “I didn't want to follow in those footsteps. I wanted something a little less labour intensive. Although there is a lot of enjoyment here, and it is a very social job, it is also very intense, it has a lot of responsibilities with it, and I just felt like I was losing my edge creatively. I think it is a little bit of a burnout.” What started off as a father-daughter venture will continue as a family affair headed by a new father-son duo who Mary says will carry on many of the traditions Aurorans have come to associate with the restaurant. When Mary and her father were looking for a place to open up a new restaurant, they were looking in Richmond Hill, Ballantrae, and Aurora. Back then, Aurora was a very different place with very different demographics, but it was centrally located, a characteristic that remains to this day. It was easily accessible, right in the middle of housing, schools, and businesses, and surrounded by people looking for “old-fashioned, good, homemade meals.” “We had a lot of comments that Aurora lacked a family restaurant atmosphere,” she says. “They were glad to have another addition to Town. People seemed quite enthused we were here and were very welcoming from the very first day. We were overwhelmed the first week we opened. There were lineups going right out the door and many nights we ran out of food. We were hopeful we were going to be busy, but we hadn't anticipated that kind of volume initially, so it was a wonderful surprise.” As good as the food was, however, there was not a lot of competition back in 1989. As the Town grew, so did the number of restaurant options – from bars to chain restaurants – that residents had to choose from. Their business has ebbed and flowed, but one way they have been able to stay ahead of the game is a very popular catering service. Through long-standing catering contracts with such Aurora-based organizations as the Ontario Provincial Police, Thompson's Funeral Home, and various other corporations, catering helped them get through what Mary describes as the “tough times”, but customers always found their way back to Jonathan's. Giving back to the community around them is also something that made Jonathan's stand out from the crowd, working in particular with organizations like Welcome Table, which not only provides meals for people in the community that otherwise couldn't afford them, but a spirit of camaraderie and fellowship. The restaurant's first foray into fundraising and community support came with “It's All Greek To Me,” a fundraiser spearheaded by Mary benefiting the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada after her father became ill. It consisted of local celebrity servers, Greek costumes, dancing and, of course, broken plates. From there, they also threw their support behind groups like the AIDS Committee of York Region and Big Brothers Big Sisters of York, and although those charities are very worthy, eventually they decided to try their hand at delivering these services right to the people. This was inspired by two students from the nearby Dr. G.W. Williams High School who came to them asking for support in raising money for one of their fellow students who was receiving cancer treatment. “We realised if you take care of your own community, it might be beneficial for everyone,” Mary explains, giving particular attention to Welcome Table. “I think because Aurora is such an affluent Town, people don't realise poverty exists in our community, or there are people who just need something over financial and emotional times, because it is not just about finances.” Over the past eight years, one of their primary focuses has been their annual Christmas Dinners. This annual tradition stemmed out of their annual Christmas Party where, over time, they began to forgo the traditional gift exchange to adopt individual families and check off each item on their Christmas wish list. Working with organizations like the Salvation Army, it grew into a Christmas tradition where numerous local families in need flock to for traditional holiday meals and fellowship at a time when they need it the most. “I think the most fulfilling part of the past 25 years is how the community has embraced us,” she says. “The love we have been given from our community and support is many times overwhelming. One incident that immediately comes to the top of my head, out of hundreds, is Canada Day three years ago. We weren't expecting to be busy because people usually go to the events afterwards. “We had a normal amount of staff we would have but unfortunately somebody called in sick, my daughter, Sophia, was stuck in traffic, and from having nobody in the restaurant, the restaurant filled every single seat, including the patio with three of us on the floor. At one point, as I am running to catch up, I turned and there were Councillors and customers cleaning tables, helping to serve customers, trying to take orders for us, and stayed back to help us re-organize. “I can't think of one restaurant I have been where that has ever occurred, where a community comes together and just shows you that kind of support and love. If people have had as much fun as they appear to have had, it was worth everything.” |
| Excerpt: As Jonathan’s Restaurant marks 25 years in business this year, owner Mary Georgopoulos is looking back on a quarter century of friendship, laughter, dancing on tables, and giving back to the community. |
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Post date: 2014-08-13 15:16:36 Post date GMT: 2014-08-13 19:16:36 Post modified date: 2014-08-20 10:48:45 Post modified date GMT: 2014-08-20 14:48:45 |
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