SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- John Tsahiridis, owner of Springfield's Greek Belly, is just getting warmed up.
"It'll be six months in at the end of this week,” he says of his restaurant. “Just as much as nervous, I am excited."
And he isn't alone. A quick Facebook search shows that there are dozens just like Greek Belly: new to town and happy to be here.
Rusty Worley with the Downtown Springfield Association says the downtown area alone saw a pretty busy year for new restaurants.
"We have a good strong history of restaurants here downtown,” Worley says. "And in 2018, we had a variety of ethnic choices like here at Greek Belly, we had new desert choices like Crave Cookie Dough across the street. We had street tacos. We had pizza coming in from New York City. We had some new seafood concepts. Just a nice variety."
But opening a restaurant is just step one next you'll have to keep it open.
"There is a higher turnover,” Worley says. “The average is about 3 years. But we certainly have seen lots of cases downtown that are well beyond that three-year window."
One person to pass that three-year window, Mike Jalili, owner of Flame Steakhouse, Black Sheep Burgers and soon Char Steak and Oyster bar.
"Restaurants are all I've done. Its what I eat and sleep and drink. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about food," Jalili says.
With Jalili considered somewhat of an expert we asked him for some tips for these new restaurants.
"It takes hard work. It takes passion,” he says. “Once you have that love and that heart, then you enjoy doing what you do."
"We call it vysma in Greek. A lot of 'passion' basically," says Tsahiridis.
https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/2018-proves-to-be-a-big-year-for-restaurant-openings-now-they-ll-have-to-stay-open/1681822425 2019-01-01 04:36:00Z
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