The former owners of Greek restaurant Plaka in Mawson will reopen after a three-year hiatus on Saturday night to the sound of cracking plates at the same site as the ill-fated Brazilian Copa Churrasco eatery in Dickson at the urging of their 22-year-old daughter.
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Maxine Miras tried other jobs but found the only thing she wanted to do was get the family, who established Plaka 40 years ago, back together in the kitchen. "We'd closed for a break and they were saying 'go to uni, go to uni'. I tried it and I didn't like it, it didn't feel like home," Ms Miras
At the reopening on Saturday night Maxine's parents Michail and Vivianne will announce their arrival in Dickson by smashing 20 boxes of plates and having a musician play the bouzouki.
The site has had a colourful history. The Pelle Group changed its Italian offering Zeffirelli to a Brazilian restaurant last year. But while the first churrasco embers were still warm, the place was hit by a serious case of food poisoning, affecting 162 people and leading to legal action.
It is understood many diners have settled out of court and the restaurant closed in June.
Ms Miras said she wanted to recreate the feeling she had growing up in the family's restaurant, first started by her uncle Con and grandfather Theo and handed down to her parents. "As soon as I could reach the bench I was making pizzas, speaking Greek," Ms Miras said.
O'Stratos Greek Taverna in Braddon recently closed, leaving Canberra's souvlaki addicts in the lurch and dabbling in kebabs because there are few other Mediterranean options in the capital.
Ms Miras said the new digs would also herald an expansion into seafood. "We have all the traditional favourites, and the Plaka favourites like beef neptune, on the menu, and we have a lot of seafood and platters to share," Ms Miras said.
The family is committed to making everything from scratch. "We make everything here, we didn't want to bring anything in," she said.
Ms Miras said she hoped the project would be a homecoming for the family. "I thought I'm never going to be happy and my parents are never going to be happy without the restaurant. We need that place to go where everybody goes and you can walk in and the family is all there."
