A recent ranking of the world’s best burgers featured restaurants in some of the usual culinary hot spots: New York, Los Angeles, Paris. Yet one surprising entry came from Port Hope, Ont., where Olympus Burger ranked 18th on Microsoft Network’s (MSN) list of the “32 Most Mouthwatering Burgers in the World.”
“It’s quite the honour,” said 37-year-old Giorgos “George” Kallonakis, a Port Hope resident and the owner of Olympus Burger. “[It was] totally unexpected. I don’t know how much it’s really kicked in.”
For Kallonakis, who opened Olympus Burger in 2013, the recognition validates years of hard work and a passion for creating quality, homemade burgers. He started the restaurant after noticing a lack of high-quality, made-from-scratch burger options in the area. “We have a lot of franchises in the area,” he explained. “So that was the main core I wanted to focus on.”
After growing up at his parents’ restaurant, Kallonakis knew he wanted to open his own one day. That opportunity would present itself sooner rather than later, and when it did, “I put my university degree on the back burner to pursue the family tradition,” he said.
The idea of a Greek mythology-themed burger restaurant came to mind when he was washing dishes at a restaurant owned by his parents, Emmanuel and Georgina. “I thought it would be really cool if [I] had a burger challenge and called it the ‘Labour of Hercules,’” Kallonakis explained. “[With a] Greek background, obviously Greek mythology had a strong influence in my upbringing.”
He continued, “Next thing you know, five minutes later [I’m] coming up with a concept of having 12 burgers on the menu, each one named after the 12 Gods of Olympus.”
After getting his parents’ approval and securing enough funds to turn his idea into a reality, the next step was finding a suitable location. “Thankfully, the location we took over was a pre-existing restaurant,” he said.
That pre-existing restaurant was formerly a Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the iconic bucket-shaped sign now proudly displays the Olympus Burger logo.
The next step was giving the rest of the restaurant a facelift. Kallonakis said that being involved in the renovations, such as tiling the floors and laying drywall, was a “big thing,” because he had never done it before. “[It was] all new to me.”
After more than ten months of work, Olympus Burger finally opened its doors in 2013.
Since then the “main menu has remained exactly the same,” Kallonakis said. “One thing that we have added since is our secret menu.”
Only viewable on the restaurant’s website, there are 12 additional burgers to choose from. These include the Patroclus, topped with house-made chili, as well as the Morpheus, topped with peanut butter and more.
“All of our ingredients are sourced in Ontario,” he said. He explained that their beef and lamb come from a farm in Barrie and their produce is locally sourced. “Everything is made in house from there,” he said.
In 2016, Kallonakis was eating lunch when he received an email from a producer on the Food Network’s “You Gotta Eat Here!” After about nine months of planning and uncertainty about whether they would make the cut, they appeared on the show.
“It was quite exciting,” he recalled. “It was a great experience.”
In an interview with The Northumberland News, show host John Catucci called the burgers “incredibly delicious.”
Since that appearance, the spotlight has continued to shine brightly on it, with customers coming from not just across Canada, but around the world.
Emily Aalbers, an Ottawa resident who was visiting with her family because her son was playing in a hockey tournament nearby, said that the restaurant’s appearance on the show was the main reason for their visit. “We knew we had to try it,” she said.
Kallonakis is also a leader in community service. Not only is he the vice-chair of the Port Hope Police Services Board, he also invests his time and resources back into the community as well.
He explained that about two months into operation, he was asked if he could provide 50 burgers for the workers and volunteers who built a new playground in the area. “There was no doubt I wasn’t going to do it,” he said.
He also tries to lead by example. “I strongly believe that if I’m not willing to do the work then I shouldn’t expect my staff to do the same,” he said.
“I like to inspire and motivate everybody that works for us.”
Caleb Cranston, who has worked at the restaurant for over five years, agrees. “I’ve used things that George has taught me,” he explained. “He’s a great leader.”
More than a decade since it first opened its doors, Olympus Burger has grown from a small-town idea to a globally recognized destination. “It’s been quite the journey so far,” Kallonakis said. “I haven’t looked back.”