Stuffed grape leaves. Spanakopita. Baklava. Greek salad.
Those dishes may be familiar to many Americans, but this was not always the case. When Teddy and Betty Kyriakidis moved to Chattanooga in 1982, they had a little convincing to do when it came to Greek cuisine.
Sitting under the cool breeze of patio fans at Acropolis Mediterranean Grill, owner Betty Kyriakidis and her son, general manager and co-owner Nick Kyriakidis, spoke to me about the family’s history.
Betty Kyriakidis smiled, fondly remembering a woman and her grandson who came into the Kyriakidis’ first restaurant in Chattanooga, “Little Athens.”
The woman inquired about the sign in front of the restaurant that read in plastic black letters, “We Have Gyros.”
“What is a gyro?” the woman asked.
When Betty Kyriakidis explained the thinly-sliced lamb wrapped in pita was similar to a sandwich, the woman turned to her grandson and exclaimed, “See, I told you it’s not a toy! Let’s go.”
She grabbed the young boy’s hand and left as abruptly as she had entered.
For 30 years, the Kyriakidis family behind Acropolis Mediterranean Grill has been serving Greek comfort food to the people of Chattanooga. It’s a story of resilience and ingenuity. Teddy Kyriakidis died in 2012, but his legacy lives on through his restaurant and in the stories of his family.
Acropolis Mediterranean Grill
— Address: 2213 Hamilton Place Blvd.
— Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
— Contact: 423-899-5341
THE PATRIARCH
In 1951, 18-year-old Teddy Kyriakidis came to America by himself. He didn’t speak English and had $2 in his pocket, but this wasn’t the first time he’d had to start over.
Kyriakidis was born in the Greek diaspora, in a little village in Ukraine. His ancestors had been uprooted from Greece under Ottoman rule. But when Kyriakidis was a young boy, his family was expelled back to Greece after his father dissented against Joseph Stalin’s order to close all churches by reopening his Greek Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Finding themselves back in Greece coincided with the German occupation in 1941.
Betty Kyriakidis told me her late husband recalled smuggling fruit and vegetables from his father’s farm across German lines. His father would always give to those in need, even when his own family was struggling, too.
“If you give,” his father told him, “God will always bless you.”
When Teddy Kyriakidis was 18, he left for America. He never got to see his parents again.
Arriving in New Jersey, he began working in diners on the Jersey shore. He met the daughter of a Southern minister who found herself newly graduated and looking for part-time work at a restaurant while she pursued a teaching job.
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Betty and Teddy Kyriakidis were married and worked together at a 52-seat diner in Asbury Park, New Jersey. From there, their work evolved to a bigger diner in Neptune, New Jersey, and then it became clear it was time for them to move. They started over again in New York City, and eventually, after Betty Kyriakidis’ parents retired near Chattanooga, they decided to make the move south.
Staff photo Lyric Lewin / Acropolis Mediterranean Grill is celebrating 30 years at this location near Hamilton Place Mall. On June 10, 2025, the photos on the wall show owners Teddy and Betty Kyriakidis.
MOUSSAKA
Over the years, Betty Kyriakidis taught herself traditional Greek recipes.
“I knew meatloaf and fried chicken,” she said. “When I went up there, I had to learn, and after I married my husband, you’re talking 60 years ago, Greeks married Greeks. They didn’t marry Americans, and so when I asked some of the Greek women ‘Would you teach me how to make baklava?’ and they said, ‘Oh honey, you can’t learn that, you have to grow up making that,’ I said, ‘You don’t know southerners. We learn.'”
The first thing she taught herself to make? Baklava.
It wasn’t long before she was baking bread, a recipe that Acropolis still uses to this day, as well as her iconic strawberry cake, which is a cult classic and has ended up on Best of the Best lists.
The couple’s four children — Sabas, Kim, Nick and Teddy — all grew up helping out in the restaurant.
(READ MORE: Acropolis restaurant at Chattanooga’s Hamilton Place closes after fire)
Nick Kyriakidis creates the menu and collaborates with the chefs, Victor Briseno and Angel Mouralles.
The Greek salad is dressed with salty chunks of feta, juicy tomato halves and the perfect amount of dressing. The Greek combo platter is a fabulous way to try multiple items: tender gyro meat, moussaka, pastitsio and stuffed grape leaves. The moussaka is layered smoky eggplant with soft potatoes and ground sirloin all covered in a decadent creamy bechamel sauce. The grape leaves are homemade and some of the best I’ve had in the city — seasoned to perfection and served with a herby, chunky tzatziki, a yogurt based sauce. Pastitsio is a Greek lasagna and truly feels like a marriage of Southern and Greek flavors, penne pasta with tomato sauce and melted cheese to top.
Betty Kyriakidis told me that Teddy would put fried chicken and meatloaf on the menu when they first relocated to the South to get people in the door, but then he would cook Greek items in the kitchen. Every day he would take a sample out to people so they could get familiar with the new flavors. Finally customers would say, “Just tell Teddy to make me something.”
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LEGACY
Nick Kyriakidis said that as the slow food movement has caught on, and more people are familiar with the Mediterranean diet, patrons have more of an understanding of Greek food. He also spoke to the importance of the culture behind the food.
“With social media and everything else today you have a generation that’s so connected but disconnected, and so I think that’s why here we do so well because you’ll see multiple generations at one table and they’re all eating, the phones are down, they’re laughing.”
This sense of togetherness and connectedness still permeates the restaurant culture. Both Nick and Betty Kyriakidis shared anecdotes of customers they’ve seen come back through their doors throughout the decades.
“Having fun and just connecting,” Nick Kyriakidis said. “I think that connectedness is what’s set us apart for 30 years.”
Contact Lyric Lewin at llewin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6215.