Alexis Restaurant is a great place for families to gather
Alexis Bakouros came to the United States at age 15. He was penniless and didn’t speak the language but he is the epitome of the American Dream. He’s now quite well off, spends his summers in Greece, and lives in a big house with his beautiful wife. He started his empire washing dishes in a Greek restaurant and soon saved up enough money to start his own restaurant. He then saved up enough to buy the building on Burnside and NW 2nd. Then he started a food import business, using his Greek contacts to import olive oil and olives. That business started growing faster than his restaurant business and soon he was buying a warehouse located at inner SE. He now has real estate on both sides of the river and a food import business that is expanding into big corporate opportunities in Seattle.
He’s a very fun man and is no stranger to enjoying great food and wine. As he sells to all of our local restaurants, he is frequently out on the town and is an expert on who’s doing what in the Portland restaurant scene. He’s an active member of the Greek community and a family man. He and his beautiful wife have two children (a boy and a girl) and one grandchild (a boy). His son, Sotiri, works on the family business with him. Sotiri is a good local guy who appreciates the opportunity to work with his dad. Alexis also employs several folks who all think he’s a great boss. He outfits them with iphones and let’s them drive company cars. He’s a big sponsor of the annual Portland Greek Festival and active in the Greek Orthodox Church.
Overall, Alexis is a great guy, who is fun to break bread with and he’s never afraid to order a nice bottle of wine. He’s a wonderful story of hard work and reinvestment in the community. We toast to his success, are happy to consider him a friend while hoping to emulate.
