Escape To The Mediterranean On Emmons Ave, As Yiasou’s Greek Restaurant Reopens (Sponsored)

This is a sponsored announcement from Yiasou Estiatorio (2003 Emmons Avenue), Sheepshead Bay’s iconic Greek seafood escape:

Yiasou Restaurant at 2003 Emmons Avenue has bounced back from Superstorm Sandy’s soaking, and is leading a restaurant recovery on the waterlogged strip by providing residents respite with hot, delectable Greek cuisine.

The seafood-oriented restaurant reopened its doors on Saturday, November 17, after two-and-a-half weeks of ’round the clock renovations, making it one of the first to get back to business.

“It was nearly three weeks of hell,” said manager and chef Michael Katsichtis of the aftermath of Sandy. “We had a few feet of water. We had to fix up the walls, redo the paintings. All the kitchen equipment had to be fixed, if not bought brand new.”

The family-owned Yiasou moved quickly to help spark the recovery for the entire neighborhood. It wasn’t just a matter of business, but of community-minded morale. Residents need a place to eat delicious food, and they need to see their favorite restaurants serving up fine fare once again.

“This is our house. This is our future. This is our life,” said Katsichtis. “This community needs every restaurant back open. It needs to be back up just like it was a couple of months ago.”

The restaurant today looks nearly untouched, but a close look shows that its iconic murals of Aegean scenes and Greek trappings are shining brighter with a fresh coat of paint, and the kitchen is humming with new, finely-tuned machinery. The staff is all smiles, proud to be back to work and, on Monday afternoon, the place was buzzing with pleased patrons peering out at the Bay’s now calm waters. Katsichtis visited tables to check in on diners, who he considers part of the family.

“It’s great to see our customers back again, to know everything is fine with their families and that things are getting back to normal,” said Katsichtis.

Yiasou’s recovery was aided with a bit of experience. The restaurant has seen disaster before, including a summer blaze which wrecked the storefront not long after its 2005 grand opening. From that tragedy, Katsichtis’ family, which owns the restaurant, learned how to get back to work quickly, and ensure its food didn’t suffer one bit.

“We’re just as good today as we ever were, if not better,” said Katsichtis.

Chef Katsichtis recommends first-time patrons try some of Yiasou’s signature dishes, including oktopodi scharas (grilled octopus), spanakopita (spinach pie), arnaki yiouvetsi (lamb, orzo, tomato and cheese, baked in a clay pot), or one of their grilled whole fish dishes, purchased fresh every morning.

Support the restaurant recovery and escape to the Mediterranean for a few hours by patronizing Yiasou Estiatorio.

Yiasou Estiatorio, 2003 Emmons Avenue, (718) 332-6064.

The above is a paid announcement by Yiasou Estiatorio. Sheepshead Bites has not verified the claims made in this advertisement. If you own a business and would like to announce a special offer to tens of thousands of locals, e-mail us at advertising [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.