Craving Greek food? Express version of popular Warner Robins restaurant to open

Opa! An express version of this popular Warner Robins restaurant is opening soon near the intersection of U.S. 41 and Watson Blvd.

The Greek Village Express is a sister restaurant to the Greek Village, said Adriana Ivanus, owner of the Greek Village.

The new restaurant is a gift from Ivanus to her daughter, Andreea Ivanus, who will own and operate it.

The Greek Village Express is located at 6001 Watson Blvd., Suite 300. It’s next to Fresh Pie Pizza within a shopping strip anchored by a convenience store and gas station near the Publix at Gunn Battle.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Andreea Ivanus said. “I’m excited to have my own concept twist to it.”

The restaurant is geared primarily toward takeout. But has several small tables where customers may opt to dine-in, or relax and wait for their order to be prepared, Adriana Ivanus said.

The Greek Village Express is expected to serve up the same food as at the Greek Village. But the menu won’t be as extensive, she said.

Instead, the new restaurant will offer up some of the lighter-lift menu options such as a gyro sandwich with fries or spinach pie, for example.

But for dishes like the moussaka — beef, potatoes, eggplant and bechamel sauce —customers will need to travel about five miles down the road to her Greek Village restaurant at 1801 Watson Blvd.

The two restaurants are on opposite ends of Watson Boulevard. The Greek Village Express is closer to Interstate 75 and the Greek Village is closer to Robins Air Force Base.

Andreea Ivanus, the mother of four children ranging in age from 8 months to 13 years, wanted a simpler concept for her restaurant in part so that she could have time for her family.

“The whole thing was for us to still enjoy our family while still running a business,” she said.

She plans to focus on healthy Greek foods, including offerings like Greek salad with lamb, hummus, grilled shawarma and Greek lemon chicken soup.

“We make everything from scratch,” she said.

The homemade tzatziki sauce is a signature favorite.

The restaurant also offers Ivanus a platform for her to teach her children a work ethic and other life lessons, she said.

“If my kids see what I can do, they can appreciate it,” she said. “I don’t want them to think money grows on trees.”

Tentative opening, hours

Adriana Ivanus was busy Tuesday grilling up some chicken at the new restaurant, while her daughter was picking up her children at school.

“We’re really excited about opening,” Adriana Ivanus said. “We’ve already had people dropping by to see if we’re open.”

The soft opening of the restaurant is from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Andreea Ivanus said by telephone. However, the opening was postponed due to a gas leak, Adriana Ivanus said Thursday afternoon. They hope repairs will be made in time to open Friday.

Andreea Ivanus said she’s decided to start with an operating schedule of 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. She’s considering extending operating hours up to 9 p.m. if there’s a strong enough customer interest in the later closing, but she’s decided she wants to close on Sundays.

She’ll test the operating hours for the next few weeks and go from there.

Her mom’s Greek Village location operates from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and is closed Saturday and Sunday. The new restaurant may have a weekend draw that the other restaurant does not have.

The grand opening for the new restaurant is Aug. 20.

The mother and daughter team have been working side by side for years.

Adriana Ivanus first opened the Greek Village in 2009. The restaurant was originally located inside a former Fazoli’s on Russell Parkway and then moved across town to a spot in Commercial Circle near city hall. The Commercial Circle location went up in flames in a fire in November 2016.

Additionally, Ivanus had opened an express location in Centerville near the intersection of Watson Boulevard and South Houston Lake Road. But she later closed it. That spot is now home to a Fried Green Tomatoes restaurant.

Of Greek-Italian descent, Ivanus grew up in Romania before moving to the U.S. in her 20s. She worked at Atlanta restaurants owned by friends for about 20 years before opening up her own restaurant in Warner Robins, according to Telegraph archives.Her daughter is now a second-generation restaurant owner. Her new restaurant is in a spot that was previously a hair salon.

This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM.