The old sign in Greektown. (Facebook photo)
For 107, New Hellas Cafe served up the roasted chicken and lamb chops and taramasalata in Greektown. Then it folded in 2008.
Molly Abraham of the Detroit News reports the rebirth of one of Greektown's most popular restaurants on Northwestern Highway in Farmington Hills, many miles north of its old location.
Abraham writes:
Now there’s a new New Hellas, but it’s far from the original location. The old café has been reinvented by Greektown veterans Demetrios (Jimmy) Papatriantafyllou and Tony Hadjisofroniou. Papatriantafyllou was one of the chefs at New Hellas and a partner with the late Gus Anton, while Hadjisofroniou worked up and down the street for many years from the Parthenon to Cyprus Taverna and New Hellas.
The new space is too cavernous to replicate a cozy Greek café. But perhaps over time the proprietors will be able to soften the corporate look and give the rooms more warmth. And speaking of large, that goes for the portion sizes, too. The big white plates all but overflow with the generous helpings of sturdy fare that will surely remind people of the old days in Greektown, sadly pretty much of a memory now. Only a couple of the old-line Greek restaurants remain, though the name clings.
