Nestled right off Denton’s Historic Downtown Square, next door to Oak Street Drafthouse and Cocktail Parlor, sits a freshly painted, bright red trailer awaiting its grand opening.
Owned by a Denton family known as the Zarrases, the food truck Papa’s Italiano is projected to open on March 8, 2025. The mobile snack kitchen will open next to the family’s pre-existing food truck, Feta’s Lone Star Greek, providing the community with a culinary fusion of flavors.
Alex Zarras is the owner of the food trucks with his parents Stacey and Lee Zarras, aiding with the day-to-day operations of the businesses. Together, they get “creative,” Lee Zarras said.
“We will fuse Greek, Italian, and Texas, and we will kinda put it all together,” Lee Zarras said.
The upcoming opening of Papa’s Italiano holds a deep and personal meaning for the Zarras family. It’s an homage to Alex Zarras’ late grandmother, Yiayia Chrysanthy, who previously led the operation of Papa’s Italiano’s storefront in Carrollton, Texas, from 2013 to 2016.
After the storefront closed, the Zarras family took a break, but in September 2020, they opened Feta’s Lone Star Greek right outside Denton’s Oak Street Draft House and Cocktail Parlor, where they remain to this day.
The family purchased their second trailer during the summer of 2024, the future home of Papa’s Italiano.
Papa’s Italiano’s revival is meaningful for all family members, Stacey Zarras said. She highlighted that the opening is about preserving a legacy.
“It brings the family together,” Stacey Zarras said. “My mother-in-law […] passed away last year and she was a big part of Papa’s Italiano and so us restarting that along with our Facebook page really kind of brought that back to life and so it’s kind of an honor to her.”
Lee Zarras’s side of the family is from Nafpaktos, a town on the west coast of Greece. Alex Zarras describes their Greek and Italian fusion approach as “Ionia,” named after the Ionian Sea that connects Greece and Italy.
Papa’s Italiano is a family business driven by their shared passion for food, which inspired them to pursue careers in the culinary industry.
“[We’re] inspired by [our] heritage but also experience,” Alex Zarras said. “You know, the people that we have met, the people we have, you know, come to know as family have taught us different ways of cooking.”
The Zarras family’s dedication to creativity and fusion is reflected in their menu offerings. Papa’s Italiano will feature Italian-style meals, with several items returning from their previous storefront location.
The menu will include items like parmesan sandwiches, Italian beef, pastas, flatbreads, tiramisu and Caprese salad.
One of their experiments is adding a Texan twist to classic Greek and Italian dishes. For example, Chipotle Tzatziki is a spicy, inventive take on Greece’s traditional tzatziki sauce, blending the cool, creamy elements with the smoky heat of chipotle.
The Zarras family aims to serve dishes that resonate with their customers and plans to experiment with various menu items to determine what becomes the most popular.
“We are probably going to go with a blackboard and just let everybody try our different types of foods before we paste the menu on the wall,” Lee Zarras said.
Positioned at 308 E Oak St., the food trucks and bar collaborate closely to facilitate one another’s growth. This cooperation allows customers to grab a drink, hang out on the patio and enjoy food from the trucks.
“So you get a beer from them [Oak Street Draft House and Cocktail Parlor], you get a, you know, a pizza, sandwich from us, and, so we combine the two,” Lee Zarras said. “It’s like their thirteenth anniversary is coming up March 9, and they close down the streets and we’ve all become part of the Oak Street Drafthouse family.”
With March 25 being Greek Independence Day, Alex Zarras and his family will be hosting their fifth celebration with running specials at their food trucks, starting three days prior, on March 22.
“This year, we have a patio, so we’re hoping we could get some goods out here,” Lee Zarras said. “Maybe some music, maybe even some folk dancing out here.”
Papa’s Italiano is almost ready for its grand opening, as the Zarras family adds the final touches to the truck.
“The only thing we have to do is get maybe some shelving done, and permits…stock up the food and open that window and the people will come,” Lee Zarras said.
The Zarras family is driven by love and family. They invite the Denton community to join them on their opening date to taste the love.
“It’s love, that’s how we tell people we love them, through our food,” Lee Zarras said.