Change in ownership on Sept. 4, 2012
Greek House first opened in February 1979
A Campus Corner staple is seeing some changes after its owners decided to move back to Greece.
Greek House, which has been on the corner of Boyd Street and Jenkins Avenue for more than 30 years, is now under new ownership after its former owners, Angelo and Helen Dimas decided to retire and return to their home country of Greece earlier this month.
The Campus Corner classic is now owned by the Tajbakhsh family, friends of the Dimas’.
“My father became friends with Angelo around the time he decided to retire,” Nima Tajbakhsh said.
While the ownership may have changed, the restaurant will remain largely the same, Tajbakhsh said.
“Everything is going to be the same quality,” he said, gesturing to the ATM that now sits in the corner of the restaurant — which is cash-only establishment. “There will only a few minor changes. We may make a few additions to the menu, like hummus, for example, but the no significant changes will take place.”
Bill Dimas, the son of Angelo and Helen, stayed in Norman to help the new owners in their transition. Dimas said he will return to Greece to reunite with his family the second week of December.
The Dimas family is originally from Prosimni, Greece, a small village of about 500 people near the capital city of Athens, he said. Angelo and Helen brought their family to Norman in December of 1978 with the hopes of putting their children through school. They opened the restaurant shortly after.
For his parents, Greek House provided a way for their children to obtain a higher education, Dimas said. Thanks to his parents’ work, he obtained a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1989, he said.
The Tajbakhsh family, natives of Iran, also came to the U.S. for educational opportunities, Tajbakhsh said.
The family immigrated to the United States 11 years ago. Tannaz graduated from the OU with a business degree, and Nima is pursuing a Broadcast Electronic Media degree, he said.
There are a number of factors that have attributed to Greek House’s success, Dimas said. Among them are “honesty with ourselves and the customers, consistency with quality, quantity and pricing and then the family environment,” he said. “It’s very difficult now days to find a family owned and operated business,” he added.
“I think that’s why my father waited this long to sell the restaurant,” he said. Angelo had been trying to sell the restaurant since 2007. “He made the decision to sell it to a family in order to continue the tradition of the Greek House,” he said.
