ORANGE -- George Chatzopoulos came to the U.S. in the 80’s from Greece and worked in the restaurant industry for years before Chip’s Family Restaurant in Orange caught his eye.
“Here I am, having breakfast with my girlfriend at the time, 2002, at Chip’s Family Restaurant and I asked the waitress if the restaurant was up for sale, and she said yes, and I bought it,” he said.
He says it was the menu at Chip’s that originally peaked his interest.
“Specialty breakfast, I always like the specialty breakfasts at restaurants,” he said. That’s what he’s continued at Chip’s, serving up breakfast all day at all six of the locations around the state.
“Pancakes are specialty and the omelets,” he said.
The restaurant is a family venture that George runs with his sister Dina. They say they work together to make customers feel like family. “We like to take pride in our hospitality, our home cooking. Everything is made from scratch here,” said Dina Chatzopoulos-Bajko.
That makes a difference to customers, whether they’re at the restaurant for the first time or regulars. “The atmosphere. The food is really good. I love it. The prices are right,” said Paul Leblanc of Wethersfield.
“The atmosphere was nice. Roomy. The service was great. The food was delicious,” said Glenn Billiter of Newington.
George and Dina say it’s the customers who keep Chip’s going and expanding in an industry that can be really tough.
“We’ve just built a huge clientele throughout Connecticut, so they’ve always had requested if we would buy a location in their area and the opportunity has come up, so we’ve decided to do so,” said Chatzopoulos-Bajko.
Chip’s is looking to expand even more.