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Angelo Giannopoulos: ‘Officially Retired, but Working’

Nick’s Place on Route 1 continues to remain one of the most beloved eateries on the shoreline. Angelo Giannopoulos, owner of this hidden gem, has provided comfort and compassion for his customers for close to 40 years, keeping his doors open 24/7 despite storms, blizzards, and hurricanes and when every other establishment on the shoreline was closed.

Technically, Angelo retired last year, but he still works almost every day and continues serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner to a loyal clientele that relies on his cooking and his camaraderie.

“I’m 'retired' now, and I’m hoping one of my kids will take over. But I’m still here and working. But your body can’t really take it. Your body takes a beating. Some people don’t realize it but it’s hard work. So, I’m officially retired but working,” Angelo says with a laugh. “I get bored, so what are you going to do?”

The Giannopoulos family has been in the restaurant business for generations — Angelo’s “Papa” Spyros, owned and worked in restaurants all around the New Haven area for decades, and he and Angelo opened Nick’s Place in 1986.

Since that time Angelo, his wife, and three children, have made Nick’s Place a welcoming home for hungry diners, but the hospitality business is one with little time off and long days standing on your feet.

“It’s in our family to be in this business. I got a degree in marketing, but being in a restaurant is just in my blood. So, after I finished school I tried to follow my degree, but it didn’t pay that much money, so I came back here and opened this place with my father. You learn a trade, you can always come back and use it,” says Angelo. “It is not easy. It's hard work. You really have to love it number one, and number two, your family has to love it too.”

Angelo has garnered a reputation for never closing no matter what Mother Nature has thrown at the shoreline. Whether blizzards, hurricanes, or nor’easters, Angelo has only closed once in its 36 years due to weather, and that was just last year and due to a lack of staff.

“Last year was the first year that we ever closed, and that was because no help showed up. When I had my kids, we would just put them in the truck and drive down. I have a generator out back and it can run the whole place. So, when no one else had lights, we were able to open. During one of the hurricanes, the water was halfway up the parking lot but we still opened. They were coming in with canoes,” Angelo laughs. “I believe that you have a responsibility. If you open a place and you have set hours on your door, you should be open those hours no matter what. If it’s possible to be open, you should be open.”

Angelo says that growing up in a small Greek village gave him a perspective that many immigrants embrace and incorporate into their work ethic when they come to America in search of opportunity.

“Believe me, I know what hunger means. When I was in Greece there were times when we were hungry. I think that is why I love the restaurant so much,” says Angelo. “My father and I grew up poor, and I came here when I was 10. I worked and played around his restaurant — peel potatoes, wash dishes, whatever it took. If somebody comes in here and says, ‘I’m hungry and I ain’t got no money,’ what are you going to do? You’re not going to give them a plate to eat? That’s inhumane. That’s not me. I would never let anybody starve.”

Angelo says that he doesn’t have a particular meal or dish that is his favorite, he simply enjoys the act of cooking, and despite the lack of formal training, he says he has developed a unique flair that keeps his customers coming back.

“I just enjoy cooking. It doesn’t matter what it is. I do Italian, I do Mexican since I went to school in New Mexico; Greek, of course; American cuisine like a pot roast,” says Angelo. “I never went to school for that, I just learned the trade. If I see somebody do it, then I pick it up. Just show me once and I can do it. Breakfast is my favorite meal to make, 'cause it’s easy. All the others you have to prepare. Breakfast you have the eggs, you have the sausage, and one-two it’s out there.”

Angelo says one of the biggest changes he's witnessed during his years in the business is a lack of staffing. He's also seen a huge increase in costs for restaurants. Prices for eatery basics like tomatoes, lettuce, and eggs have doubled and even tripled in the last year, forcing many shoreline competitors to shut their doors.

“I’m getting old now and you just can’t find help like you used to. You simply can’t find help these days,” says Angelo. “Folks are into the networks, and the Twitters and the Facebooks, but I’m not into that. Where I advertise is trying to keep my prices lower so they can afford to eat. It’s not easy, prices are just huge now. The other day, the vendor brought five items and it was $596 dollars. One case of lettuce is a hundred bucks! Gas, electric all of the utilities are just…wow. Luckily my landlord cut the rent for us during COVID and that was huge and let us stay open. I was very lucky she did that.”

Angelo’s son Peter now operates Papa Spyros Olive Oil in honor of Angel's father Spyros who was born in a small Greek village in 1923. The family still owns a small farm in Greece and their trees have been in the Giannopoulos family for generations. Today, they grow and harvest about 500 hundred trees, ranging in age from 10 to 300 years old on 20 acres of land.

“I just came back from Greece, seeing our olive trees. My son now has the olive oil business and sells it through farmers markets,” says Angelo. “I’ve been very lucky here, like I said, for 36 years I enjoyed working over here. Everyone has been great to me. People trust me and I trust them. I’ve been satisfied and very lucky that I chose this area. They have been very good to me.”

Nick’s Place is located at 200 Boston Post Road, Madison.