Chef Spotlight: Greek restaurateur brings authentic generational recipes to Flagler Beach

For some, cooking is a chore — a daunting task that associates itself with a cluttered kitchen, hard-to-clean dishes and hit-or-miss recipes. Not something you do in your free time, never something you do for fun.

For others, like Dimitri Bourtzakis, it's home — a family-oriented practice he’s known since he was a boy, with recipes he’s perfected over time and introduced, successfully, right here in Flagler Beach.

Beachside Gyro’s, the beach town’s newest lunch and dinner addition, has been a long-time-coming dream between Bourtzakis and his business partner, Michelle Gilfillan. The quaint new eatery opened its doors earlier this month and, despite having no social media pages to spread word online, sold out entirely during its opening weekend, a success co-owner Gilfillan describes as both shocking and unimaginably encouraging.

“We came and tried to conquer, you know? The community here has been amazing to us. I literally had to put a sign up. I felt so bad, but as you can see (Beachside Gyro's) is small, you know, so we sold out in hours,” Gilfillan explained. “But I don’t think it could’ve gone much better, because any time you open, you’re still working the kinks out, you know? So, to be slammed that hard and only having two people — 'cause it's only us — it was — yeah, everyone was just so kind and so patient and we feel very, very blessed.”

There, taped to the eatery’s door, that very sign read, “We appreciate all the love and support,” noting that due to the building’s limited size and storage, the eatery will (gratefully) be forced to close its doors earlier than usual on days when the restaurant’s traffic exceeds expectation.

The newly opened spot has already gained what seems to be a rather loyal following, with online reviews boasting about the new Flagler Beach favorite’s made-to-order menu, an authentic array of sweet and savory dishes prepared just as Bourtzakis had once known them in Greece, where the restaurateur was born and raised.

A life-long passion passed on through generations

By the young age of just 9, Bourtzakis had begun his culinary journey, noting the hobby as something rather natural to him — an art he embraced with his family and was consistently surrounded by as a child. After long watching his father’s hand at work in the kitchen, he was 17 when he received the opportunity to demonstrate what he had learned.

His father, putting his son's skills to the test, challenged Bourtzakis to recreate the very dishes he had seen him prepare for years — a task Bourtzakis flawlessly managed, or so he thought. Eagerly, and perhaps overconfidently, presenting his tasty replications, Bourtzakis was dismayed by his father's criticism.

When his father disapproved of the perfectly cloned plates, Bourtzakis, feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment in his work, thought he must be must be crazy — that his father must need to sample them just one more time.

But he didn’t.

Exceptionally prepared and identical though they were, the dishes were a mere culinary impersonation, Bourtzakis recalled his father telling him. Until he could take what he knew and make it his own — the sign of a true chef — each prepared plate would inevitably fall short.

So, his experimentation began.

From that moment on, Bourtzakis spent his days in the kitchen, further developing his culinary passions and paving his path to success, interweaving various family recipes, culinary techniques and knowledge passed on through generations to create his own Greece-born masterpieces — the very ones he would bring to the States many years later.

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From Greece to Ormond Beach

It wasn’t until after owning restaurants in Orlando and Chicago in his early career, a family venture that wasn’t quite his style, that Bourtzakis found himself in Ormond Beach looking for his next promising project.

However, before the creation of Beachside Gyro's, there was the success of Dimitri’s Bar Deck and Grill.

The Ormond Beach eatery began as a diner, Bourtzakis explained, before some remodeling and the construction of the eatery’s deck transformed the restaurant into “more of a sports bar.” Here the restaurateur’s food found great success among the local community, as Bourtzakis personally trained each chef on the proper mixtures, techniques and preparation for every detailed, homemade dish.

While a plethora of the beloved restaurant’s staff served the community well during its time in business, one person in particular, “a workhorse” as Bourtzakis described her, stood out to him.

Michelle Gilfillan.

Having worked as the general manager for Dimitri’s Bar Deck and Grill for over four years, Gilfillan noted the great successes she witnessed as an employee.

“I know how much people loved (his food),” she said. “There was never a time — in the entire time that I worked there, I couldn’t even remember a single person saying that they didn’t like his gyros. They were always just amazing.”

Bourtzakis' passions persist with new and humble aspirations

Though his restaurant’s quality and success never waivered, as the years persisted, Bourtzakis longed to downsize — a smaller project with less demand that, nonetheless, continued to fuel his culinary passions and carry on the family recipes of his beloved Greek cuisine. It wasn’t until after 20 accomplished years in business that Bourtzakis decided to sell the eatery last year, after expressing his humble new business aspirations to his then-general manager, Gilfillan.

Having seamlessly worked together for years, the dynamic pair decided that they would ultimately go into business together.

Following the closure of Dimitri’s Bar Deck and Grill — now Blues and Brews Bistro — and after a year-long break from the industry, the two reconnected to brainstorm over their new venture. As time passed and the building search continued, the two ultimately found themselves nestled in the more-than-ideal South Second Street strip of Flagler Beach.

“I love, love this community,” Gilfillan said with a smile, describing the area to be an overtly welcoming, family-friendly town that simply felt right for Beachside Gyro's.

Gyros, desserts, skewers and more

Looking ahead, the optimistic pair hopes the restaurant's abrupt success will continue, offering new and returning customers an array of authentic options ranging from the spinach and teripotia pies, Feta Cubenella and roasted red pepper hummus and pita, to the baklava, Greek salad and cheesecake baklava.

A personal favorite and perhaps the most obvious choice among Greek-food lovers is the Gyro Meal, made with pork, chicken or rich, tender lamb (the best). The thoughtfully seasoned, juicy selection includes several fresh toppings, including onions, tomatoes and Bourtzakis homemade sauce — a dish that danced with pronounced savory, herbal and garlic flavors. The Souvlaki Meal — two chicken or pork skewers — is no less indulgent, as my flavorful, marinated chicken selection was altogether filling, tender and seasoned to perfection.

Both meals are served with tots, feta-topped tots — a must, trust me — or salad.

Unlike anything known to Flagler Beach, the dynamic duo prides themselves on their authenticity and exceptionally fresh offerings.

“You are definitely getting authentic Greek. This comes from family recipes that have been in his family years and years and years. Nobody else has them, so you won’t find anything like it anywhere else, “ Gilfillan said. “It's about as traditional as you can get. That’s the main thing honestly, because you can get fake gyro meat—you can get fake lamb meat—but ours is right off the spit. People know the difference; people are smart. And they ask, you know? They see it on the spit, and they know its real lamb that they’re getting.”

What's to come for Beachside Gyro's

Moving forward, Gilfillan noted that the eatery hopes to potentially expand its hours and offerings once they’ve further settled into the space and worked out any unforeseen new-business kinks. While the eatery does not currently have a phone number, orders can be placed online through Google or at the restaurant. With only a handful of outdoor tables and no indoor seating available, the restaurant operates in a casual, mostly to-go fashion, perfect for a beach day bite or weekend meal to enjoy at home.

Gilfillan is also currently working on creating Beachside Gyro’s social media pages, including a Facebook and Instagram account.

Beachside Gyro's is located at 205 S. Second St. in Flagler Beach and is open from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Friday – Saturday and 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday.

Helena Perray is the restaurant and dining writer for The Daytona Beach News-Journal. A New Jersey native and passionate storyteller, she can be contacted at hperray@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook. Support local journalism by subscribing

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: New Flagler Beach restaurant serves authentic Greek cuisine