We're Expanding!

	More indoor seating More parking Sidewalk cafe style patio Central air conditioning	Coffee bar New wheelchair accessible restrooms Bigger kitchen

Niko Niko's grows to keep up with its hordes of aficionados
by Dai Huynh - Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle - originally published: June 23, 2004

Bill Olive / Special to the Chronicle Andrew, Stephanie and 6-month-old Nicolas Sullo beat the rush for lunch at Niko Niko's at 2520 Montrose. The restaurant is being renovated to accommodate more diners.

Regulars time their visits to Niko Niko's. Why? Arrive at noon and you'll stand in a line that snakes from the front to the back of the restaurant. An hour before lunch is a better bet. Same rules apply at dinnertime. Go early or go late to avoid crowds.

Amazingly, Niko Niko's cultlike fans stand patiently in line for gyro salads, falafel and moussaka. But by September, all that will change. The former gas station is tripling its size, expanding by 4,200 square feet to make room for a second cash register, enclosed outdoor patio and larger prep area.

"I don't know how the girls are going to react to having space," owner Dimitrios Fetokakis said about his cooks. "There's barely enough room to turn around. You got 15 girls working in a 200-square-foot kitchen. Between the grill and the prep table, you have a foot. That's tough, and it's getting harder because I'm gaining weight!"

Bill Olive / Special to the Chronicle Owner Dimitrios Fetokakis laughs with Daisy Acevado, who has worked at Niko Niko's for 27 years.

The restaurant is also getting central air and a wheelchair-accessible bathroom. "I was always embarrassed when somebody in a wheelchair came by," Fetokakis confessed.

Parking can be a real pain at Niko Niko's on Montrose. Right now, there are a dozen parking spaces. After the remodeling, there will be 30. The outdoor patio will be enlarged, and a new coffee bar will offer authentic Greek coffee. "But people will still order their food at the counter," Fetokakis said. "We'll still serve food on Styrofoam plates. We're keeping the store's front. We're keeping the brick, and we're keeping the counter."

As for the slanted floor that Fetokakis' parents, Chrisanthios and Eleni, put in by mistake when the restaurant opened in 1977, it's staying because that's "the feel of the place," Fetokakis said.

Niko Niko's will be open for business as usual during the remodeling.