CLOSED: Bacchanal Greek Restaurant

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...

By Laura Hahnefeld

May 21, 2012

What happens on the ground matters — Your support makes it possible.

We’re aiming to raise $6,000 by August 10, so we can deepen our reporting on the critical stories unfolding right now: grassroots protests, immigration, politics and more.

Contribute Now

Progress to goal

$7,000

$1,100

Audio By Carbonatix

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
            "component": "21251496",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "STN Player - Float - Mobile Only ",
            "component": "21327862",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "Editor Picks",
            "component": "16759093",
            "insertPoint": "4",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "17980324",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - 2x Rectangles Desktop, Tower on Mobile - Labeled",
            "component": "21934225",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25          
          
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "17980324",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
            "component": "17012245",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          }
        ]

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.

Follow Chow Bella on Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest.

Laura Hahnefeld

A message from Food & Drink Editor Tirion Boan: If you value independent journalism, please consider making a contribution to support our continued coverage of Phoenix's evolving dining scene and the chefs and restaurants that serve our community.

Support Today