Welcome to Putnam County Small Business Spotlight where we will be highlighting small businesses in our community every month.

Small businesses are the backbone of Putnam County’s economy and part of the fabric of our beautiful towns and villages. When you shop locally, you are supporting your friends and neighbors.

[* The Small Business Spotlight segment will only feature businesses that target Tourism Visitor Spending which falls under the following categories: Food & Beverage, Retail, Lodging and Recreation/Entertainment. *]

Stop by That Greek Place in Carmel and on any given day you can find three generations behind the counter.

Dimitra Gritsipis runs the restaurant with her daughter, Lia Rafailidis, a 20-year-old college student. However, Dimitra’s mom, Evangelia, is often on-site cooking delicious recipes that she brought over from Greece when she moved to the U.S. 50 years ago.

This is a tight-knit family, and they want guests to feel like family when they enjoy a gyro or souvlaki at their cozy restaurant on Fair Street.

“When you come here, I want you to feel like you are coming to my home,” Dimitra Gritsipis said. “I cook like I would as if you were having dinner with my family and I want our customers to feel that way.”

Gritsipis, who lives in Lake Carmel but has spent much of her life in Greece, has never run her own restaurant. However, she learned about the business by working at her parents’ pizzeria in Harlem, which they ran for 45 years. Gritsipis opened That Greek Place in November of 2022. The restaurant specializes in authentic Greek cuisine, including homemade desserts, with each dish prepared with a family touch.

Gritsipis is outgoing, funny and hardworking, the perfect person to be the face of the restaurant. Still, Gritsipis, a single mom, gives much of the credit to Rafailidis, a business student at Pace University. Rafailidis, mature and wise beyond her years, often comes straight from class to work at That Greek Place. She moved to Putnam County from Athens, Greece in 2021. Her cousin, Julie McPhee, also works at the counter.

Mom and daughter recently spoke about running That Greek Place and their close relationship. They couldn’t help but get emotional when talking about each other.

“I built this for Lia because she misses Greece and this is a little piece of Greece for her,” Gritsipis said. “Lia works so hard, and she is really the one who built this place. She is my strength and inspiration.

“I couldn't ask for a better mom,” Rafailidis added. “She has put her blood, sweat and tears into this restaurant. My mom is incredible, and I want to be just like her when I grow up.”

To learn more about That Greek Place, visit www.thatgreekplace.com.

That Greek Place (3 Fair Street, Carmel, NY)

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