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Olga's Kitchen Founder Olga Loizon is Dead at the Age of 92
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Olga Loizon talks about opening the original Olga's Kitchen in this 2017 video.
Detroit Free Press
Olga Loizon, who opened a small Greek sandwich shop in 1970 that grew to become the popular restaurant chain Olga's Kitchen, known by generations of metro Detroiters, died for 92 years.
Death was published Monday afternoon.
Olga & # 39; s Kitchen was best known for its unique pita bread sandwiches, spinach pancakes and curly French fries, and had more than 50 top seating in the 1980s – many in malls – with franchise locations as far as New York City , Clearwater, Fla. And Austin, Tex.
Loizon, a Detroit native, started the business in Birmingham and, after selling the stake in the mid-1970s, continued to have roles in the growing business and made regular appearances at Olga's Kitchen Restaurants. well into her twilight years, greeting customers and tasting dishes in her namesake kitchen.
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Buy photo [19659017] Olga Loizon, formerly in Greece, lives in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. She and her son Bill opened a stand on the continental market in Birmingham, Michigan, and later founded the chain “Olga’s Kitchen,” which features Greek fare.” data-id=””/>
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Over the course of time, Olga's Kitchen achieved a level of belonging that is comparable to other well-known Detroit brands such as Vernors, Faygo, Sanders and Better Made.
out of state. The company was reduced in the 1990s and refocused on the home market in Michigan. It met new battles in the 2000s, when it once occupied the shopping center lost foot traffic among the retail trade upheavals.
Olga's Kitchen was bought out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of 2015 by the TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants, and regained its financial basis. Today there are 26 places, anything but one in Michigan.
"She was really a pioneer in her age," said Loredana Gianino, marketing director for Olga's Kitchen and TEAM Schostak. "She underwent so many obstacles and did things that completely ran the trend of what a woman of that time would do."
Greek inspiration
Loin's inspiration came during a 1960's trip to Greece, the birthplace of her parents, where she enjoyed the Greek souvlaki sandwiches that she paid $ 300 for a vertical broiler she had sent to Michigan.
She spent several years experimenting in her home in Birmingham with recipes for what became Olga's Kitchenette Bread. [19659036] At Olga's kitchen in Canton, new president Jonathan Fox, and founder of the restaurant Olga Loizon, is cooking and testing the new chicken shawarma. Loizon opened his first Olga in 1970 in Birmingham. Photographs Thursday, December 5, 2013. "width =" 180 "data-mycapture-src =" https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/01/15/PDTF/10655242-a9c9-45a4-aca1 -1c190871a8ed-OLGA_120913_rhb2.jpg "data-mycapture-sm-src =" https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/01/15/PDTF/10655242-a9c9-45a4-aca1-1c190871a8ed-OLGA_120913_rhb2. jpg? width = 266 & height = 400 "/> Buy photo
At Olga's kitchen in Canton, new president Jonathan Fox and founder of the restaurant Olga Loizon, are cooking and testing the new chicken shawarma. Olga in 1970 in Birmingham Photographed Thursday, December 5, 2013. [Foto: Regina H. Boone, Detroit Free Press]
It was in her home Birmingham that Loizon created the original Olgas sandwich with spicy lamb and beef, smeared with tangy "Olgasauce", topped with tomatoes and sweet onions [19659006] She opened her first sandwich shop, originally called Olga's Souvlaki, in a small 11-foot-10-foot spot within what was the Continental Market in Birmingham.
"Present t was so small we couldn't even make the bread there, "Loizon said in 1984." I had to do it at home and drive it in. " I can say it now, but it was all a little secret then. "
Loizon recalled in an interview with Crain's Detroit about how she was the first woman to obtain a business loan from her local bank, Detroit Bank and Trust, which she used to open that store. [19659006] Words scattered about Loin's unique sandwiches and Olga's store developed a cult feeling that attracts customers. [19659044] WCZY disk spinner Dick Purtan constitutes an image with Olga Loizon, founder of Olga's Kitchen Chain in 1987. "width =" 540 "data-mycapture-src =" https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/01/15/PDTF/429f9855-15a8-4c06-9b3e-633cc66b45d2-dfpy20687.jpg "data-mycapture-sm -src = "https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2019/01/15/PDTF/429f9855-15a8-4c06-9b3e-633cc66b45d2-dfpy20687.jpg?width=500&height=395" /> [19659044] Buy photo
WCZY disk spinner Dick Purtan represents an image with Olga Loizon, founder of Olga's Kitchen chain in 1987. (Photo: Detroit Free Press)
In 1975, Loizon sold Olga's concept to a group priv ate investors. The business was rebranded as Olga's Kitchen and began expanding across the state, to the Fairlane Mall, Lakeside Mall, and later Ann Arbor and Lansing.
"Olgas is by far the most exciting idea of eating sandwiches," Read a 1970s advertisement
Loizon held an active presence in their restaurants, approved menu items and visited various Olga's kitchens several times a week. She made regular appearances as late as last year.
"She would go in and say hello to everyone and ask," How was your meal? How did you like my Olga bread? "," Gianino claimed. "She wanted to make sure everyone was enjoying everything."
Investment owners set a national vision for Olga and tried to expand far beyond Michigan. A two-story Olga kitchen opened in Manhattan in 1986 with visions of that time for as many as 40 more Olga in the New York area. But the brand never resonates in outdoor markets to the extent it had in Michigan.
In 2015, after several years of loss under the ownership of Robert Solomon in Palm Springs, California, Olga's Kitchen explained bankruptcy.
The business was later purchased by Livonia-based TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants, which returned the chain to profitability by closing money and losing the mall, opening new places and reclaiming classic recipes for popular Olga dishes.
Born in Detroit
Loizon was born Olga Patrick in Detroit and brought up in Hazel Park. In 1947, she married John Loizon, who survives her.
She was led to death by her parents and two siblings, Alexandra Zoyes and Costa Patrick.
She is also survived by three children, Emily Kontos, Bill Loizon and Ernest Loizon and two grandchildren.
TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants have launched the Olga Loizon Memorial Foundation, which is aimed at providing financial assistance to Michigan's aspiring female entrepreneurs.
Instead of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Olga Loizon Memorial Foundation and sent to the TEAM Schostak Family Restaurant headquarters at 17800 Laurel Park Drive North, Ste. 200C, Livonia, MI 48152.
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