Olga's Kitchen
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Olga's Kitchen is an American chain of
Greek-American Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...
family restaurants located primarily in the
Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
, founded by Olga Loizon. , there were twenty-seven restaurants: twenty-six in
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, and one in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. The first location opened in
Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103. History The area comprising what is now the ...
in 1970, which is now closed. The company is based in Livonia, Michigan.


History

Olga Loizon founded the first Olga's Kitchen in
Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103. History The area comprising what is now the ...
in 1970. Loizon developed the chain's recipes in her own basement, using a machine for making
souvlaki Souvlaki ( el, σουβλάκι, , ; plural: , ), is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with ...
meat which her uncle had purchased, and sauce inspired by her mother's recipes for yogurt. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the chain expanded through southeastern
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
and into
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. The first one in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
opened at Clearwater Mall in Clearwater, Florida in 1981. For most of the chain's early history, one of its signature items was "Olga Bread", a handmade type of bread used on all of the chain's sandwiches, which themselves are called "Olgas". By 1985, the chain had garnered over $22 million in revenue and had begun franchising. By 1992, the chain had 56 stores in 11 states, and had opened a prototype store at
Lakeside Mall Lakeside Mall is a Taubman-built super-regional full-line shopping mall located in the northeastern Metro Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights, Michigan. The mall is located on M-59 (Hall Road) between Hayes and Schoenherr Roads. The mall currently ...
in
Sterling Heights Sterling Heights is a city in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan, and one of Detroit's core suburbs. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a total population of 134,346. It is the second largest suburb in Metro Detroit, and the fourth la ...
. This number had shrunk by 1999 to 28 stores in four states, although one of the earliest in St. Clair Square in
Fairview Heights, Illinois Fairview Heights is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,078 at the 2010 census. Fairview Heights is a dominant shopping center for Southern Illinois and includes numerous shopping plazas and the St. Clair S ...
remained open at the time. A 2006 review of the Lansing Mall location in the ''
Lansing State Journal The ''Lansing State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Lansing, Michigan, owned by Gannett. Overview The ''Lansing State Journal'' is the sole daily newspaper published in Greater Lansing. The newspaper had an average Monday through ...
'' described the chain's signature sandwich, the Original Olga, as "a hearty sandwich that is tasty and quite filling." The sandwich, served on the Olga bread, features broiled beef and lamb, onions, tomatoes, and a yogurt-based sauce called Olga Sauce. In June 2015 Olga's Kitchen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In the process it closed its one location in the city of Detroit. Loizon died at age 92 in January 2019.


See also

*
List of Greek restaurants Following is a list of notable Greek restaurants, which typically specialize in Greek cuisine: * Alexis Restaurant – Portland, Oregon, U.S. * Berbati's Pan – Portland, Oregon * Daphne's Greek Cafe – United States * Greek Cusina – ...


References

{{reflist


External links


Olga's Kitchen
Restaurants in Michigan Companies based in Troy, Michigan Greek-American cuisine Restaurants established in 1970 1970 establishments in Michigan Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015