March 4, 2007
By Thor Jourgensen/The Daily Item

Taso “Ernie” Nikolakopoulos stood outside the ruins of John’s Roast Beef last July 7 and promised that his decision to rebuild his restaurant and commercial building was a matter of “when,” not “if.”

True to his word, the local resident is less than a month away from reopening John’s, located on Western Avenue and Chatham Street, with an expanded menu and delivery service.

“The basics will be the same but we’re expanding to seafood,” he said, adding he plans to install a computer tracking system to speed up food deliveries.

Malfunctioning old wiring started the fire that gutted John’s and forced Nikolakopoulos’ tenant to find a new apartment. His commercial tenants also had to search for new offices.

Within days of the fire, employees and regular customers scrawled messages on John’s intact windows urging Nikolakopoulos to make good on his promise.

They turned out to be the core of a large network of supporters that helped him plan the reconstruction.
He credited firefighters and city inspectors with instructing him in designing a bigger and better built restaurant. Local adjustor Harvey Rowe helped him sort out insurance problems and boyhood friend and local builder Costas Apostalopoulos’s company, Metro Form Construction, pitched in late last year to start rebuilding.

He also praised Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr., and former and current Economic Development and Industrial Corporation directors Peter Deveau and James Cowdell with helping him clear financial hurdles.

State Rep. and fellow restaurant owner Robert Fennell was one of the first people to encourage him to rebuild.

“I found out that a lot of people took this personally and wanted me to get back on my feet, but three people kept me focused: My wife, Linda, brother, Peter, and my father.”

George Nikolakopoulos bought John’s Roast Beef in 1985 and built up his clientele before selling the business to Taso in 2004. He was in Greece at the time of the fire, but flew to the United States to help his family rebuild.

“When I was watching the flames, I was thinking of him,” Nikolakopoulos said.

Nearly all of his 10 employees plan to return to work at John’s. He said old customers and new ones will find the reborn eatery outfitted with a 42-inch plasma television, walls painted midnight blue and a concrete composite floor.

“Everything is going to be efficient. We always had good food but its reputation was not matched by the ambiance.”

The building will also have space for two residential and two commercial tenants. Nikolakopoulos hopes the new John’s serves as a springboard to open another restaurant.

“My dream is something right on the shoreline,” he said.

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