Veteran restaurant operators open full-service Greek eatery
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By David Goodhue
dgoodhue@keysreporter.com
Posted - Friday, October 16, 2009 10:45 AM EDT
Greek Isle Grille owners Freda and Bill Ferns sit at a table in their new restaurant.
A longtime Upper Keys restaurant owner has opened a Greek eatery in the Pink Plaza Shopping Center in Key Largo.
Bill Ferns and his wife Freda opened Greek Isle Grille at the shopping plaza at mile marker 103.5, bayside, on Oct. 7. The couple owned Gyros King at several locations over the years, and most recently, the Italian restaurant, La Cuccina at mile marker 105, which is now a Mexican establishment called Puerto Vallarta.
Bill Ferns said he sold all his businesses to focus his attention on the new restaurant. He said the focus of Greek Isle Grille is on people interested in sitting down to a full dinner. The restaurant features a full dining room that seats 75 people.
“Gyros King was more sandwiches and takeout. This is more of a complete restaurant where people can sit and relax and eat,” Ferns said, adding, “You can still get takeout.”
Ferns said he is keeping his prices low in light of the ongoing recession.
“I’d rather have a full house with reasonable prices than an empty one with high prices,” he said.
The menu includes cold appetizers like hummus, tzatziki and dolmathakia, all for $5, hot appetizers like spanakopita— or spinach pie — Greek meatballs, or keftedes, both for $5, and octopus and shrimp saganaki, both for $8. The restaurant also has an assortment of salads and pita wraps, as well as pita pizzas.
Entrees include moussaka, which is roasted eggplant, meat sauce, potatoes topped with a béchamel sauce, for $12, baby lamb chops for $14, fish of the day for $14, a gyros platter for $12 and a mixed grill of gyros, pork and chicken for $15.
Deserts include traditional Greek favorites like baklava, skolatina, rizogalo and yiaourti, all from $5 to $7.
The restaurant will be serving beer and wine in the coming weeks, Ferns said. The Greek Isle Grille can be reached at (305) 451-7001.
