After 13 years of operating Port Hope’s award-winning burger restaurant, the Kallonakis family is stepping away from Olympus Burger.
Giorgos “George” Kallonakis, who opened the 55 Mill Street South restaurant with his parents Manolis and Georgina, announced the family’s decision on Facebook and Instagram on Wednesday (January 28).
“We have made the difficult decision that it is time we take a step back from Olympus Burger, a restaurant we have loved and poured our hearts into, and regain some of our life back,” Kallonakis wrote. “We hope the new management will maintain and uphold the standards we set out and continue the Olympus Burger legacy for years to come.”
Reflecting the popularity of Olympus Burger, whose fresh and homemade burgers are all named after gods and characters from Greek mythology, the Facebook post has over 1,000 reactions and 267 comments.
The Kallonakis family has a long history in the restaurant business, with Manolis and Georgina having purchased the former Cottage restaruant in Lindsay from their cousins, Chris and Cathe Karkabasis, who also owned Lindsay’s iconic Olympia Restaurant (now operated by their daughter and her husband Nicki and Costas Dedes, alongside their children Christina and Nikos).
Since opening Olympus Burger in 2013, the Kallonakis family’s restaurant has received continuous kudos.
The Food Network’s television series “You Gotta Eat Here” featured the restaurant in fall 2016. In 2017, Canadian Living named Olympus Burger as the best burger restaurant in Canada. In 2020, the restaurant was named as one of the top 25 in Canada in the Heinz Ketchup For Hamburgers Contest.
Olympus Burger also has been featured at least twice on MSN’s list of the world’s best burgers and, in 2023, the Food Network ranked Top 10 list of Best Burgers across Canada for the third time in 10 years. In addition, in 2018, Olympus Burger became the first restaurant in Canada to be Carbonzero-certified by the Toronto-based organization that helps companies reduce and offset their carbon footprint.
The restaurant has also received local honours from the Port Hope and District Chamber of Commerce, including when George Kallonakis was named the chamber’s inaugural Business Person of the Year in 2023.
Kallonakis, who is currently chair of the Port Hope Police Services Board, says his family will continue to be actively involved in the local community even though they won’t be at the helm of Olympus Burger anymore.
“We will continue to be advocates for Port Hope and give back to this community that gave us so much in return, one way or another,” he wrote on social media.
There’s no word yet on when the Kallonakis family will be handing over the reins or who will be managing the restaurant.
