Costas' Place Staff
Owners: Kalliope Economos
Chris Economos
Office Staff (full time): Chris Economos
Phil Economos
Office Staff (part time): Penny Economos
Narcissa Economos
Hostesses: Minerva Angelopoulos
Petra Adamos
Bartenders: Alexander Economos
Kostas Economos
Tom Economos
Wait Staff: Persephone Economos
Maroula Economos
Cassandra Economos
Anastasia Matsoukis
Chefs: Khristos Economos
Evangelos Economos
Nectarias Economos
Anatasios Matsoukis
Bakers: Hadrina Economos
Melissa Economos
Eleni Matsoukis
The restaurant industry plays a prominent roll in The Rock Star’s Wife series, especially book one, Sexual Awakening. Nearly the entire Economos family depends on Costas’ Place, the family’s restaurant for its support, and Cassandra, the series’ main character, works there part time throughout three books, starting when she is 15 years old.
Here is how Cassandra explains the restaurant’s history in Sexual Awakening: “My grandfather, Costas Economos, named Costas’ Place after himself when he founded it in 1947. He came to Sterling from Peoria during the war with my grandmother, Kalliope, for factory work. According to him, his coworkers were always jealous of the food he brought for lunch, so he decided to share it with them. It started with bringing stuff to work, before he sold food from a stand and finally founded this restaurant.”
As she points out in the following paragraph, restaurant work isn’t fun or glamourous but it does pay the extended family’s bills.
The Parts of A Restaurant
The Economos family spends a great deal of time at the restaurant. So where are they spending this time?
We see Chris, Papou and, starting in Mr. Right is a Myth, Phil in the administrator’s office. The top chef also has an office in a typical restaurant located in the kitchen.
The staff has a breakroom with lockers where they can store belongings, eat and rest while out of the view of patrons.
Restaurant kitchens are divided into specific sections called “lines.” Each line is dedicated to a task. The hot line is for the preparation of hot entrees, the cold line is for the preparation of cold foods, the dessert line is for the preparation of desserts, and the breakfast line for the preparation of simple meals and beverages.
To maintain a sanitary environment, meat is prepared in a separate room close to the cooking area. Fish also is kept in a separate area. To avoid cross contamination, fruits and vegetables must also be prepared away from meat and seafood.
The wait station is located between the kitchen and dining room, and contains utensils and glasses as well as beverages such as water and coffee.
Keeping the dishes and pots and pans cleaned is a never-ending task throughout the work day. White dishes and glasses are cleaned separately from anything made of metal. The dishwashing station contains large sinks, trash bins or a garbage disposal, shelves for plates, and tables.
New foods are delivered to the restaurant’s back entrance and enter the building in what is called the receiving area.
Foods must be properly stored to avoid spoilage and cross contamination from raw meat. Perishable goods are stored in refrigerators and freezers near the preparation area. Other food is kept in dry storage beside the main kitchen area in their original packaging.
What Kind of Restaurant is Costas’ Place?
Costas’ Place would be classified as a casual dining restaurant.
Casual dining is defined as “the section of the restaurant industry that provides a more relaxed setting for customers to enjoy their meal. This means the level of formality is toned down when compared to fine dining restaurants, although table service is likely to still be in place. When compared to fine dining restaurants, casual dining environments are more affordable, although the quality of food is not going to be as high.”
It also is a full-service restaurant which means it offers table service and a variety of menu options. Food at full-service restaurants typical takes more time to prepare than fast-food restaurants.
Pre-COVID-19 pandemic, households with an annual income of at least $70,000 were responsible for 63 percent of total restaurant spending, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Here are some other facts about the restaurant industry that affect the Economos family:
- In 2021, there were 660,936 restaurants in the United States, employing 14.9 million people.
- The pandemic forced the closure of 110,000 restaurants, either temporarily or permanently, and 2.4 million restaurant employees lost their jobs. Ten percent closed permanently.
- In 2021, sales were down $132.8 billion compared to 2019.
- The majority of restaurants, 90 percent, have 50 or fewer employees.
- The average profit margin for a full-service restaurant is 3 percent to 5 percent.
- The average annual salary of a restaurant employee is $25,504.
- Sixty percent of restaurants close before their first year in business, and 80 percent close by their fourth year.
Source: Zippia
Greek Restaurants In Illinois
The fictional Costa’s Place is located in Sterling, Illinois. In reality, three Illinois Greek restaurants were recently named among the best restaurants in the country.
Two of the restaurants are located in Chicago which, according to Wanderlust Marriage Travel, has one of the largest populations of Greeks in the United States. The Greektown neighborhood hosts the restaurants. The area also is the birthplace of saganaki, a flaming cheese dish.
The website’s top pick was Greek Islands, a restaurant so famous it has its own Wikipedia page. Konstantinos Koutsogeorgas founded Greek Islands in 1971. It is known for its seafood which was featured on the Food Network.
Wanderlust Marriage Travel’s second pick is Athena, known for its kalamata chicken.
“Comedian Tina Fey, who is Greek, raved about the dish to David Letterman who also loved it. Kalamata chicken is a half rotisserie chicken atop crispy fries swimming in jus,” the website says.
The National Herald selected Chrissoulas in the Chicagoland suburb of Libertyville (the hometown of Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello and Tool’s Adam Jones) as one of the top 10 Greek restaurants in the nation. Nick and Theo Dimitriou, who own the restaurant, named it after their grandmother. Guilty Eats, a restaurant news website, featured Chrissoulas’ grilled octopus.
Greek Foods Mentioned in The Rock Star’s Wife Series
Avgolemono
“We’re going to start off with avgolemono. That literally means egg lemon. It’s a soup.” – From Chapter 14, Rock Star Romance
Avgolemono soup is made with egg (avgo) and lemon (lemono). There are other ingredients as well. My grandparents made theirs meat free with orzo pasta, but chicken can be added.
It’s one of those foods I’ve been meaning to make but, because of the complexity of the recipe (as well as not having my grandparents’ version), I haven’t.
Baklava
“I think you’re focused solely on your stomach.”
“I love baklava. And I don’t have any homework tonight anyway.” –From Chapter 4, Sexual Awakening
Of all the Greek foods mentioned in The Rock Star’s Wife series, baklava probably appears the most. It is a particular favorite of Phil, Cassandra’s double cousin who grew up two houses down.
In case you don’t know, baklava is a Greek dessert made with layers of filo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with honey.
My family and I make baklava annually for Orthodox Easter. We aren’t religious, but it’s a day to honor our departed family members by enjoying foods that connect us to our cultural heritage.
Diples
“Then comes dessert. Karidopita, a walnut cake with syrup, three pastries – diples, skaltsounia and chocolate souffle wrapped in baklava – and two cookies – melomakarona and kourabiedes.” – Chapter 14, Rock Star Romance
Diples are a dessert. They are made by placing an iron mold in batter and frying it with cooking oil. They are served with honey, crushed walnuts and cinnamon.
My grandmother didn’t make these specifically, but she did use the mold to make cookies.
Dolmades
She pops a dolmades into her mouth and tugs on my elbow. “Who is that?” she says before she finishes chewing. – From Chapter 9, Sexual Awakening
Dolmades are stuffed grape leaves. They are typically stuffed with rice and seasonings.
Although I’ve only made them once as an adult, I have memories of making them with my grandmother. She grew the grape leaves in her yard.
Galaktoboureko
“Thea Hadrina, Thea Eleni and Thea Melissa gossip while they bake spanakopita, baklava, loukoumades, galaktoboureko, kourabiethes and melomakarona.” –From Chapter 10, Sexual Awakening
Galaktoboureko is a pudding pie made with custard, filo dough and a honey syrup.
Gyro
She works for Costas’ Place, our grandfather’s restaurant, and brought home gyros with pilafi. – From Chapter 1, Sexual Awakening
Gyros are Greek fast food. It’s lamb, beef, pork, or chicken in a pita with tzatziki sauce, tomato, onion, and other toppings.
You can tell a Greek from a non-Greek based on how the person pronounces “gyro.” The food gets its name from the process of roasting the meat on a vertical skewer that spins. The meat is sliced thin while it spins. “Gyro” is the Greek word for “around.”
Kleftiko
“Gyro meat, souvlaki, kleftiko, saganaki, calamari and the rest of the dishes cooking make the kitchen a delicious mixture of scents. It’s mixture of sounds, too. The chefs – Theos Khristos, Theos Evangelos, Theos Nectarias and Theos Anastasios – talk and laugh while they work.” –Chapter 10, Sexual Awakening
Kleftiko is a dish consisting of slow cooked lamb.
Koulourakia
“Koulourakia or kourabiethes?”
“Koulourakia. This isn’t Christmas…”
“It isn’t Pascha either…” ‒ Chapter 18, The Pandemic Diaries
Koulourakia are butter cookies with an egg glaze.
Melomakarona
“Two of my aunts handle the baked goods for full time customers, but we’re here to make holiday baked goods for the family: christopsomo, a bread, and two cookies, melomakarona and kourabiethes.” Christmas Surprise, Chapter 7
Melomakarona is a dessert served traditionally at Christmas. It is made with ground walnuts, cinnamon, cognac and juice, among other ingredients. It is decorated with a honey and sugar syrup and walnuts.
Ouzo
“Um, okay, so he had the ouzo ready to go? I take it from him and set it on the coffee table. My chest heaves too much to drink.” – From Chapter 40, Mr. Right is A Myth
Ouzo is a Greek aperitif. It has a bit of a licorice-ish flavor. Ouzo can be as high as 46 percent alcohol and is generally served in a shot glass or is watered down.
“Ouzo turns milky white when mixed with water,” Greek-recipe.com says. “Some people mix it with water, others not and some others like to have it on ice. Ouzo is the perfect drink to accompany appetizers, known as mezedes in Greek. The appetizers can be salads, seafood, pickled vegetables, cheese, meatballs and many others.”
Pastitsio
“Theos Khristos comes out of the kitchen wheeling a cart carrying six plates of his specialty, pastitsio, along with our favorite drinks.” – From Chapter 15, Sexual Awakening
Pastitsio is a pasta dish made with macaroni and ground meat and topped with béchamel sauce. I have made pastitsio a few times, including in the crock pot.
Spanakopita
“Thea Hadrina, Thea Eleni and Thea Melissa gossip while they bake spanakopita, baklava, loukoumades, galaktoboureko, kourabiethes and melomakarona.” – Chapter 10, Sexual Awakening
Spanakopita is a dinner food made with layers of filo dough, spinach and feta cheese. I’ve made it handful of times, including a crock pot recipe.
Souvlaki
“That is,” Chris says, “if you still like souvlaki and pilaf. Nowadays, I know you prefer bratwurst and sauerkraut.” – From Chapter 9, Rock Star Mom
Souvlaki, a quick and easy food, amazingly doesn’t make its appearance in The Rock Star’s Wife series until book four.
Souvlaki is a fast-food item marinated chicken, beef, or lamb grilled on a skewer.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Restaurant Industry
In first 22 days of March 2020, the restaurant industry lost $25 billion in sales and more than 3 million jobs.
By May 5, 22 percent of restaurants permanently closed, and 29 percent of the remaining restaurants had laid off more than 75 percent of its staff. An additional 63 percent had laid off some of their employees.
By June 5, 43 states were allowing, or would soon allow, restaurants to reopen for dine-in service. State implemented strictly reopening guidelines. These included hygienic requirements for employees, dining room capacities between 25 to 50 percent, and social distancing.
Once restaurants reopened, they faced the challenge of proving they were a safe environment to be in. As many as 80 percent of people did not go to a sit-down restaurant after restaurants reopened.
In September 2021, the National Restaurant Association Research Group conducted a survey. The results showed that although restaurants’ business was drastically improved from the year before, it hadn’t improved for everyone. Only 56 percent of restaurants’ sales volume in August 2021 was higher than the year prior. When compared to 2019, only 24 percent of restaurants had higher sales.
Even as late as August 2021, 49 percent of limited-service operators and 40 percent of full-service operators were not open at full capacity for indoor dining. The overwhelming reason was a lack of adequate staffing.
In addition, restaurants were experiencing supply delays or shortages while the cost of doing business had increased. Food, labor and occupancy costs were all higher than they were prior to COVID-19. For 85 percent of operators, profit margins were lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Most restaurant operators didn’t expect the situation to improve anytime soon.
Nearly four years after the March 2020 shutdowns, long-term changes emerged.
Restaurants are closing or minimizing dining rooms. Some establishments have transitioned to being quick-service restaurants.
“The restaurant industry has been bifurcated between two types of places: ones that cater to the ‘hangry,’ must-eat-now crowd and those who want to be nurtured and entertained,” The Washington Post said.
The first group makes use of drive-throughs. Drive-through business increased 13 percent, and 39 percent drive-through lane traffic is bumper to bumper.
Meanwhile, carryout orders decreased 3 percent and delivery increased five percent. Delivery comes with a downside. Delivery providers’ high fees eat into profits.
Since the pandemic, more restaurants are offering online ordering. This option costs restaurants $30,000 to $50,000 to develop a basic on-demand food delivery app, something that’s cost prohibitive for many independent restaurants.
One final trend that appears to be here to stay: scaled back menus offerings.
This article is part of the reader's guide for The Rock Star's Wife series by Melina Druga, a contemporary fiction series about sex, family, and rock & roll. The series follows Cassandra from her teen years into her 40s as she navigates relationships (both romantic and platonic) — all with music playing a prominent role.