By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Taxidis trades music for restaurant business
209--Athens QA Pic 2a
Athens Burgers Owner Steve Taxidis stands in front of the extensive menu that has made his Downtown Manteca eatery a popular spot. - photo by JASON CAMPBELL

NAME: Steve Taxidis   

JOB: Owner, Athens Burgers

BORN: Salonika (Thessaloniki), Greece

AGE: 64

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM YOUR PARENTS: “It’s a different world today than it was when I was growing up. You really can’t say that it’s the same and a lot of things from them really don’t work in today’s world. But my parents taught me respect and that’s something that has stayed with me.”

THING YOU APPRECIATE THE MOST: “My health. Your health is always the most important thing. You can plan for 5 and 10 years down the road, but if you’re not healthy none of that is really going to matter.”

PET PEEVE: “There are a lot of things at times that fit that, but the bottom line, when you own a restaurant, is that you have to make your customers happy. Sometimes when people might be difficult you have to do what you can to make them happy. At times it takes patience, but you want them to want to come back.”

FAVORITE DINING HAUNT (RESTAURANT): “Most of the time I eat here. I’m always here working and I know what it is that I’m going to be eating. We only use the best products here and everything is quality so this is what I enjoy.”

SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU
: “When I first came to the United States I worked as a musician playing the bouzouki – it’s a stringed instrument similar to the guitar. I played with other musicians until 1987 throughout Southern California – I lived in Anaheim at the time – and traveled to Texas and New Orleans and other places. I had to give up that part of music to start a family because it requires a lot of travel.”

FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC: “Being a musician, any music that’s good I enjoy. Good music is my favorite type of music. I like the type of music that I play – Greek music – but any good stuff that I hear I like.”

BIGGEST CHANGE IN MANTECA SINCE OPENING YOUR RESTAURANT: “Downtown has changed since we opened up almost four years ago. A lot of stores have closed because a lot of people go to the new shopping centers. A lot of businesses are struggling right now.”

WHY DID YOU PICK YOUR CURRENT LOCATION AS THE PLACE TO OPEN A RESTAURANT?
: “Originally I was working to take over the Long John Silver’s at the corner of Louise Avenue and Main Street and a location in Tracy with a friend, but it looked like that was going to take a while to get all of the legal stuff worked out. I would drive past this location on my way there and see Jimboy’s Tacos, and one day I drove by and saw that it was available for lease. I called and made an appointment to check it out and was signing the lease three weeks later. Not long after that I got the call about the other space, but I was already committed to this. That was almost four years ago now.”

WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST ABOUT THE PROCESS OF STARTING A NEW BUSINESS?: “I really enjoy remodeling places to make them into the space that I want. When we opened here we completely redid the kitchen. I opened my first restaurant in 1979 and have had a few since and that has always been my favorite part.”

BEST PIECE OF ADVICE EVER GIVEN TO YOU?: “My father, back when I was still in Greece in the town in Greece, noticed that I was hanging out with kids that were troublemakers. He pulled me to the side and told me that I should hang out with people that are smarter than I am because I could get something from them – I could learn from them. He said I wouldn’t learn anything from the losers. That stuck with me.”

WHAT’S YOUR PERSONAL MANTRA?: “You have to have a plan in life. Whether it’s a two-year or a five-year or a 10-year plan, you have to know what your goals are or you’ll never accomplish anything.”

WHAT’S THE MOST STRESSFUL THING ABOUT BEING YOUR OWN BOSS?: “These days it’s worrying that you’re not going to make enough money to pay the bills and everybody that works for you. A lot of small business owners are going through that. It’s something that you think about when you go home and you’re lying in bed trying to fall asleep. At work you’re busy all the time and you don’t have to get stressed. But that’s something that’s definitely weighing on you.”

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR SOMEBODY THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN OPENING THEIR OWN RESTAURANT AND EMBARKING ON A CAREER IN THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS?
: “Make sure that the location you pick has enough business around. Be prepared to work a lot of hours and take on a whole lot of new responsibilities. There are rewards, but it takes a lot of work to get there.”

BEST WAY TO SPEND YOUR TIME?: “When all of my kids get together and we spend time as a family. My daughter moved to Southern California to go to school and after she graduated got married last year. She’s coming up this weekend. Sometimes we get together at my house and sometimes it’s over in Dublin. But that’s what I enjoy doing when I’m not working.”

IF YOU WERE SOMEONE ELSE AND YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE WHAT KIND OF PERSON STEVE WAS, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?: “Honest and straight-forward.”

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE 10 YEARS FROM NOW?: “I’d like to be retired and I’d probably move back to the Bay Area – find a couple of musicians and friends and start playing music again. I have a lot of friends there.

WHAT IS YOUR GOAL WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?: “Just to get through my day. I wake up and get ready and get to work as soon as I can so I end up going home in the afternoon to rest before coming back in the evening. There’s a lot of work that goes into this.”

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE CHANGE IN MANTECA?: “Manteca’s like a lot of the Central Valley – it’s been affected by the economy. I’d really like to see it get back to the way that it was 10 years ago with jobs and construction pushing a strong economy along. That would make things a lot better for people here.”

— Jason Campbell
Bulletin staff reporter