There will be no belly dancing Sunday night at the U-District's iconic Continental Greek Restaurant & Pastry Shop because Sunday, June 30, will be their last day of business.
The "bittersweet" announcement was made on the restaurant's Facebook page and confirmed in a phone conversation with owner Demetre Lagos, whose parents, George and Helen, bought into the original pastry shop in 1974 and took over two years later. Demetre has worked there for most of that time.
"It's time for a break," he says, adding, "We're grateful to all of the people who have supported us over the years."
The restaurant has had a longtime relationship with the Unversity's international student community, hosting a foreign-language Stammtisch (table for regulars). Russians on Sunday, Germans on Tuesday, French on Wednesday, and so on.
With the passing of the Continental, three Greek restaurants will have closed within the past year. Costas in Fremont became a Chase bank; the First Hill Bar & Grill was taken over by a Vietnamese restaurant, Green Leaf. And Hawaii BBQ, currently located five blocks further north along The Ave, will take over the Continental premises.
It's the end of an era, really, with the Greek families who provided so much of Seattle's (and America's) "ethnic" food in the second half of the 20th Century leaving the restaurant business.
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