Audio By Carbonatix
At 3015 East Thomas Road, the sounds of smashing plates, rousing “opas!,” and festive music and belly dancing is no more. Bacchanal Greek Restaurant in Central Phoenix has shuttered.
At the corner of a strip mall, the good-time Greek eatery was established in 1989 and operated by the Gicoudis family for over 20 years. Known for getting into the celebrations themselves, here’s a video of owner George Gicoudis and his son Taso dancing the Tsamiko at the restaurant.
So what happened? Here’s what a source had to tell me.
Despite the urging of friends to move their restaurant to another location, the family decided it was time to let go completely and sold Bacchanal to new owners in 2011. Unfortunately, the new proprietors couldn’t replicate the food (think vegetarian moussaka, roasted leg of lamb, and Veal Bacchanal) and the restaurant shuttered after only a few months.
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