MANASSAS, VA — Olive oil-making runs in the family for brothers Diamantis and Dino Pierrakos, and it’s only natural they wanted to share their tradition in the U.S. The brothers’ Prince William County-based business, Laconiko, has found success selling their Greek olive oils in the U.S. and earning accolades for their products.
Keeping the olive oil family business wasn’t originally in the cards for the Pierrakos brothers, who are now the fourth generation of Greek olive oil producers. Diamantis and Dino Pierrakos were born in Greece and grew up attending schools in the U.S., while their father remained in Greece with the olive oil operation.
According to Dino Pierrakos, their parents wanted to expose them to the “American Dream” in the U.S. and pursue a career of their choice.
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“Agriculture lifestyle in Greece wasn’t necessarily profitable. They couldn’t see their kids going in, back into that industry,” Diamantis told Patch.
But when age started to take a toll on their father, the family made a decision to keep the land with the olive groves. In 2009, the brothers started the business that would be named Laconiko to import their olive oils to the U.S.
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Laconiko started as a business in their basement and grew to a warehouse, and now its tasting room at 11301 Braden Drive in the Manassas area of Prince William County.
The company’s main customer base is boutique stores around the U.S., shoppers served during pop-ups around Virginia, and customers who have visited the tasting room. Their grand opening at the new location was in summer 2024.
“We’re a family business, so we’re not a mass producer,” said Diamantis. “We’re not in supermarkets. We’re passionate. We produce a small batch production, but super high quality, extra virgin olive oil, and we want to share that love that we have with the consumer.”
Laconiko’s award winning Koroneiki Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Emily Leayman/Patch
Diamantis says olive oil is “one of the most adulterated products in the industry.”
One way that Laconiko’s olive oils differ from typical store brands is the close attention they pay to antioxidants, which contribute to taste and shelf life. He says many olive oils have a two-year best-by date, but the quality may not last that long.
“The reason is because they lack the antioxidants, to preserve antioxidants over time they degrade,” Diamantis said. “An olive oil can lose over 60 percent of its antioxidants within a year if they’re not properly stored. So imagine if you start with an olive oil that’s very low in antioxidants. To begin with, olive oil will degrade extremely fast within a year. If you start with an olive oil that’s very high in antioxidants, it will last much longer.”
Dino told Patch that the frequent use of extra virgin olive oils contributes to the healthiness of the Greek and overall Mediterranean diet. But antioxidants in the olive oils not only provide health benefits. He says there’s a misconception about olive oils having a low smoke point.
“The higher the antioxidant was within that extra virgin olive oil, the higher the temperatures that it can withstand,” said Dino.
Storing olive oil properly can help maintain the shelf life. Laconiko typically stores its olive oils at 57 degrees Fahrenheit to preserve antioxidants.
Harvests of Koroneiki olives at the family’s coastal olive grove in the southern Peloponnese region of Greece begins each fall. The olive oil operation starts their harvest early in the season when the fruit is young and green, which results in more robust green notes in the olive oil. Workers will pick the olives from trees and put them on nets. The same day, the olives are taken to the mill to be crushed at very low temperatures. The cold-pressed olives are then stored in stainless steel vats.
The reason why Laconiko’s olive oil-making differs from mass-produced olive oils is that the younger fruit does not produce as much olive oil. Diamantis says the fruit contains more oil when it matures.
“It’s not typical to find olive oils like ours in the market, because as a producer, you don’t want to lose a big part of your production volume wise,” he said. “And if we were to harvest a month, two months after our typical production, we could drastically increase our yield.”
After the harvest, the olive oil products are shipped to the U.S. and bottled at the Manassas facility. Shipping only occurs during the winter months to protect the phenols, or the compound that give olive oil its unique taste, from the heat.
From there, the olive oils get sent to small boutique stores around the U.S., often specialty oil and vinegar stores and wine shops that like to carry high-quality extra virgin olive oils.
Several of Laconiko’s flavored olive oils, Emily Leayman/Patch
Laconiko also sells its products in its Manassas location, where customers can sample products and taste the difference. Dino likes to explain to customers that a good olive oil should taste clean and fruity. Laconiko’s olive oils have a buttery finish with a peppery bite, the latter of which indicates the quantity of antioxidants.
“When they tasted what real extra virgin oval should taste like, their eyes would always open,” said Dino. “The first question that they would say is, ‘oh my gosh, why does it taste like this?’ So from that, it gave us an opportunity to go into detail why it tastes like this, what we do different for it to taste like this and, of course, they are able to see our love and passion for our our our olive oil.”
Laconiko’s standard olive oil is its Koroneiki Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is made from koroneiki olives and has won multiple Gold Awards from NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.
It also sells flavored olive oils, like Greek Seasoning, Garlic, Clementine, Lemon Basil, Harissa Seasoning and more. Olive oils from producers in Italy and Spain, dark and white balsamic vinegars from Italy, and Greek pantry items like olives round out the offerings.
Balsamic vinegar offerings at Laconiko, Emily Leayman/Patch
Having the family farm on the coast of Greece gives the brothers an escape from the bustle of Northern Virginia. Diamantis says the community is agricultural and not commercialized, offering coastline without development of hotels. The brothers hope to offer the farm as a bed and breakfast or “hybrid tourism” so customers can experience the harvest and the beach.
Another venture they are working on is hosting cooking classes at the Manassas location. They hope to host chefs from various cuisines for classes as soon as the fall.
Laconiko has won hundreds of awards each year for its olive oil varieties. It most recently won the “The Best in Greece” and “Best Koroneiki Olive Oil in the World” at the 2025 Athena International Olive Oil Competition.
But even more fulfilling than those awards is seeing customers’ reactions to their olive oils.
“When you have customers that come and they thank you, and you hear, ‘thank you so much for being here,’ it makes us feel so proud that we’re able to offer this to them,” said Diamantis. “You know, this is our biggest motivation. This is our biggest success factor.”
“The one thing that [customers] say is now…’you guys have spoiled us, because now that when we run out of your olive oil, everything else just tastes bland and terrible,'” added Dino.
The brothers encourage residents to try out the olive oils at the tasting room. Laconiko also offers shipping within Virginia. For more information, visit laconiko.com.
Laconiko awards displayed at the tasting room, Emily Leayman/Patch
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Dining and Cooking