The Greek Kitchen is back and opens today

Photography by George Mahe

Photography by George Mahe

The Greek Kitchen is back in Kirkwood, in a familiar spot with a new name: The Greek Kitchen Shop

Owners Lisa Nicholas and Joe Kandel reopen their popular Greek concept today, September 16, inside the food hall at Schnucks (10233 Manchester), returning to the same space where they once operated a satellite location of The Greek Kitchen and, later, Hungry Joe’s. They join Tender Love BBQ (a.k.a. TLBBQ) in the three-kitchen space, along with China King, which is slated to open in October.

“We have been looking for a location for over a year, and as it happens, we are back inside Schnucks again,” Kandel said in a release.

For Nicholas, the motivation was even simpler: “I really missed cooking for people and wanted to jump back in.”

The Concept

This version of The Greek Kitchen will be a leaner operation than the couple’s former full-service restaurant. Nicholas and Kandel will handle the cooking and run the shop, allowing them to keep payroll and other operating costs more manageable.

Photography by George Mahe

Courtesy of The Greek Kitchen Shop

Courtesy of The Greek Kitchen Shop

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Photography by George Mahe

Courtesy of The Greek Kitchen Shop

Courtesy of The Greek Kitchen Shop

The menu (listed here) is smaller (no meat centric dishes such as gyros, shawarma, kebobs or lamb shanks) but many of the restaurant’s longtime Greek favorites are returning, including avgolemono soup, spanakopita, pastitsio, moussaka, Greek salad, Greek chicken pasta, and baklava.

The shop will emphasize takeout and catering. “Heat it, and eat it,” as Kandel says.

The Backstory

Nicholas and Kandel originally opened The Greek Kitchen in Ellisville in November 2016, taking over the former Café Kebab space at 15939 Manchester. They closed that location in July 2018, citing difficulty finding kitchen employees in West County, but quickly resurfaced closer to the city.

Less than a month later, The Greek Kitchen reopened at 343 S. Kirkwood, in the former Sushi Bistro space. The Kirkwood location expanded the menu and became the restaurant’s home for nearly five years.

In September 2021, the couple added a second, abbreviated version of The Greek Kitchen inside the newly remodeled Kirkwood Schnucks, joining other local concepts in the store’s food hall. In 2023, they transformed that satellite into Hungry Joe’s, a more broadly American/Greek concept, which added such items as burgers and pizza while retaining some Greek favorites.

The standalone Kirkwood restaurant closed in July 2023 when its lease ended, with Hungry Joe’s following several months later. Nicholas and Kandel say rising rent, payroll, and food costs contributed to the closures, but the biggest challenge was finding qualified help. “Business was great,” Nicholas says. “We just couldn’t find anyone to help us with it.” Afterward, Kandel took a part-time job behind the fresh fish counter at Starrs, where he still works, while Nicholas continued teaching ballet part-time at the Dance Center of Kirkwood.

Now, after more than three years away from The Greek Kitchen name—and more than a year spent looking for the right location—they’ve landed back where one chapter of the story began. Only this time, Nicholas and Kandel are keeping things “smaller, simpler, and decidedly Greek,” says Nicholas.

The Greek Kitchen Shop
📍10233 Manchester (inside Schnucks), Kirkwood
📞314-698-2077
⏰11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tue-Sat