A Windsor landmark has been sold.
Thanasi's Olympus Greek Restaurant at 1204 Tecumseh Rd. E. will close at the end of May after 41 years in business.
Owner Nick Pontikis says he has such mixed emotions about the decision to sell the restaurant.
The announcement was made Tuesday on Facebook and Pontikis says he and his wife, Lori, have shed some tears reading the messages on the posting.
Pontikis described it as emotional for his family and his staff.
"Mary, my manager, has been wonderful, Svetlana in the kitchen, Hannah, everyone at the front. Dolly has been with me for 35 years. It's just so bloody emotional that after 41 years, I won't be going there anymore," he says.
Pontikis says he named the restaurant after his father and all of his recipes are based on his mother's Greek Island recipes.
He made the decision to sell after being approached with a offer for his location, calling it "the right time", but stresses the COVID-19 pandemic had nothing to do with his decision.
"I started when I was 24 and I'm now 65, we're getting tired," he says. "The main thing that convinced me to close is that my kitchen is getting as old as me."
Pontikis also takes pride in their menu, saying they introduced real Greek food to Windsor back in 1981.
"At the time is was just souvlaki and gyros in the city, which is pretty well the hamburger and hot dog of Greek cuisine," he says. "We also serve gyros and souvlaki, and we do it pretty well, but we introduced real Greek food."
Customers have asked him for his recipies over the years, but he has refused to give up his secrets.
Pontikis also estimates during his 41 years in business, he's barbecued over 1.5-million perfect lunches, the chicken shish kabob.
The location will convert into an Indian cuisine restaurant when Thanasi's closes at the end of May.