Dad Attracts Diners from Across the Globe After Building $22k Greek Taverna–in His Backyard

July 12, 2024 journo

Panikos Panayiotou at The Lakis Greek Taverna – SWNS

Mr. Panikos Panayiotou is attracting diners from all over the world after the restaurant he built in his backyard became a local hotspot.

Forking out tens of thousands to bring a slice of the Mediterranean to the industrial heartlands of Walsall, England, all the net proceeds from his delicious Greek menu go to charity.

It’s called the Lakis Greek Taverna, and despite sitting literally in the 44-year-old’s yard, it’s fully compliant with restaurant regulations.

They are now attracting visitors from as far away as the USA and are typically booked two months in advance, serving around 200 customers per night.

“Luckily the neighbors don’t mind, they are fantastic on both sides,” Panayiotou explains. “We usually do a street lunch for the locals. They’re great and they love that we’re raising for local causes. We’ve got a lot of support from our local area.”

Panikos decided to construct his 861-square-foot restaurant in memory of his late father Lakis who died from small-cell lung cancer in 2012.

Lakis, who owned a fish and chip shop, had started to build his own taverna at his village in Cyprus but passed away before it could be completed. Panayiotou said he wanted to honor his dad’s memory by finishing the job he had started—all while raising money for good causes.

The taverna took two months to build with the help of his wife Michelle and volunteers, and since 2014 he has raised ($82,000) £64,000 for local charities such as Acorns Children’s Hospice and helping the homeless.

“Our traditions are to have a relationship with your loved ones in the afterlife, so you do good deeds in memory of them. And this is what we do here every year, this is for him,” Panayiotou admits, who built a small shrine inside the restaurant to memorialize his papa.

“My father always wanted to run a traditional Greek taverna from his home and so it’s a way of keeping his memory alive and raising much-needed money for charity.”

A dinner crowd at The Lakis Greek Taverna – SWNS

“He’d probably think I wasn’t cooking the food right, that he could do it better,” he told the British news agency SWNS laughingly. “But he would praise me, not to me, to others, but if he was here he would be the life of the party.”

The restaurant only serves up homemade, traditional food prepared by Michelle and a volunteer chef who works at a Marriott hotel as a day job.

Their signature dish is lamb klefiko marinated lamb and potatoes slow-cooked in the clay oven for 8-12 hours.

Desserts include a range of homemade traditional Greek delicatessens, including baklava, coconut cake, and Greek chocolate rock cake, called “Doukissa”.

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“I’m second generation Greek Cypriot, and my mom migrated here in 1974 with my father. They came here on a working holiday but they lost their home to the Turkish. At the start my mother was the driving force as well. She started us off with all the recipes and making sure the food is right. It’s completely traditional,” explains the garden restauranteur.

“My parents have embedded into us the power of giving back. I do it for six weeks every year. This year, the team has raised £16,500 to help a three-year-old boy with a brain tumor as well as other good causes. We also have an active foodbank which feeds people every week.”

“We have a rainy day fund. When a family needs something like a roof fixing or a microwave or who can’t afford it, they can apply to us. It’s an emergency fund.”

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“When we started we didn’t expect to be doing it for this long. I want to get to 20 years if we can and help a lot of people along the way,” he said in conclusion. “We believe in the power of food and heritage to bring people together and create a positive change.”

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