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SkyGreece to Link Athens With Canada, U.S.

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Coming on the heels of Qatar Airways’ announcement that in January, 2013 it will offer Athens-to-New York flights, a new company, SkyGreece Airlines, based in Canada and with Greek-Canadian interests, is also planning to start direct flights from Athens to Canada, as well as New York and Chicago.

The flights will start in May 2013 and the weekly program will include two flights, one to Toronto and another to Montreal. The flights to New York will be three times a week. The company said it will  launch direct flights from Athens to Chicago and South Africa as well.

The company will use Airbus A340-300 aircraft. SkyGreece Airlines said that the Cabin crew will be Greek and their aim is use Greek pilots as well.

The agreement was signed in a meeting held at the home of the Greek Ambassador to Canada, Eleftherios Aggelopoulos’, with managers of the company. SkyGreece’s offices in Montreal will start operating the second week of December, and a few weeks later, the offices in Toronto will be opened. The New York office will open in February. The company’s office at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens is already open.

SkyGreece is planning to start a promotional campaign in January 2013 and intends to combine flights with cruise itineraries to the Greek islands in summer 2013. Skygreece Airlines was founded in October 2012. The company’s main mission is to re-unite the North American Diaspora with the Greek Homeland. It was founded by a team of entrepreneurs who have extensive careers in the aviation and tourism fields.


Eldorado Gold Mine in Evros Nears OK

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eldoradoWithin the next few weeks, the Canadian company, Eldorado Gold Corp.’s investment in Perama, Evros, is expected to be given final approval by the Greek government to proceed, over the vociferous protests of some local residents who say it will damage the environment and hurt tourism, although backers say it will bring in critical jobs during Greece’s crushing economic crisis.

The approval of environmental impact assessment, which now requires only one signature, and the signature of the Minister for the Environment are the last steps for the company to begin work on a 150 million euros  seems to be the final step in the process of 150 million euros ($200 million) investment.

This approval will lead to the issuance of environmental conditions’ permits and licenses for the mine in Perama. Then a technical report will be submitted to the competent authorities. Its approval will be the next step for the issuance of mining permits.

Greek Institute of Geo research, Perama ‘s subsoil has gold deposits of a value of 2 billion euros ($2.66 billion) along with an estimated 800 million euros ($1.065 billion) analysts have said.

 

Blackberry Co-Founder Lazaridis Walks Away

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0927LazaridisWith his once-dominant smartphone Blackberry under siege by competitors who reacted more quickly to changing tastes and fourth-quarter earnings set to be revealed on April 4, BlackBerry announced that former co-founder and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis will give up his seat on the board as Vice-Chairman and Director on May 1.

Lazaridis, who was born in Turkey and immigrated to Canada with his Greek parents as a child,  attended university in Waterloo, where he co-founded Research In Motion (RIM) in 1984, the same year he released the Blackberry

Lazaridis now has attention on Quantum Valley Investment, a fund targeting commercial applications in quantum information science. Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, RIM’s co-founder, announced their new $100-million business fund in March.

“I’m really proud of what we built together at RIM, and I believe I’m leaving it in good hands, and remain one of its largest shareholders,” Lazaridis told the news agency Reuters in an interview. When asked whether he will hold on to that investment, he said he has no plans to do otherwise and sell his stake. He owns 5.7 percent of the Waterloo, Ontario-based company, according to Thomson Reuters data from December 31, 2012.

Lazaridis said he went to the board month and asked them to make Thorsten Heins Chief Executive, the Financial Post reported. “I was asked to reconsider my decision to give up the CEO post, but I promised the board that I would assist Thorsten and his team in the completion of the development of BB10,” he said. “I believe I’ve now fulfilled my commitment to the board.”

Greek Ambassador Meets with CTC President

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Rendez-vous-Canada-2013At the exhibition for tourism professionals, Rendez-vous Canada 2013, in Ottawa, the Greek Ambassador to Canada, Eleftherios Aggelopoulos, met with the President of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) Michele McKenzie and exchanged views on issues of cooperation, methods and possibilities of tourism promotion, both in Greece and Canada.

The Greek side requested a list of the tour operators in the Canadian territory and discussed the possibility of organizing a meeting with professionals in the field of tourism.

McKenzie stressed that Canada has tourism agencies in the USA, Mexico, Australia, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, China and India.

The meeting was also attended by the Chairman of the Canadian Tourism Commission Board of Directors, Steve Allan, the First Counselor for Economic and Commercial Affairs of the embassy, Pelagia Sousiopoulou, and the Press Counselor Athanasia Papatriantafyllou.

DEKA Awards For Montreal’s Greeks

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DEKAThe annual DEKA Awards Gala, through which the Greek business excellence in Montreal is recognized, was held May 17 by the Hellenic Chamber of Commerce of Montreal whose aim is to promote commerce, trade and to reward the sense of entrepreneurship in the Greek community of the city.

This year, among the winners of the DEKA Awards was the former president of the Hellenic Community of Montreal and a notary for many years Demetrius Manolakos. Also, Nick Karabineris of the company Odyssey Shipping Ltd. and Peter Iliopoulos, Senior Vice President of the company Gildan Activewear Inc.

The award for community service was given to the Educational Institute Socrates, while the Hellenism award was given to  Tasos Papanastasiou, professor of Modern Greek Studies at McGill University.

The Consul General of Greece in Montreal Thanos Kafopoulos talked about the progress of Greece and its optimistic perspective, inviting entrepreneurs to invest in Greece.

Manolakos referred to the successful route of the Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, inviting the Greeks to support the community. The President of the Hellenic Chamber of Commerce George Tsitouras closed the night by thanking everyone and noted that all his eight children attended the Greek-language school Socrates.

The event was attended by the City Councillor Mary Deros, the President of the Hellenic Community Nikolas Pagonis, the Vice-President of the Hellenic Chamber of Commerce John Theodosopoulos and others. The hosts of the night were the TV journalists Aphrodite Salas (CTV) and Joanne Vrakas (CBC).

Meimarakis’ Meetings in Canada

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182E2B7EF7A7EA951FA5A8741B5067BA“Today Greece is experiencing its important moments. It must inform everyone of its great achievement, and that it is able to stand back on its feet once again and show it has created a friendly business environment which can attract investments, lead to growth and reduce unemployment, ” the President of the Parliament, Evangelos Meimarakis was quoted saying in the capital, Ottawa, on the first day of his official visit to Canada.

Meimarakis stressed that his visit is part of the briefing of all those factors that can actually affect the social and economic life of Canada, in order to proceed with investments in Greece, always within the legal framework that exists in the country, which can create new jobs.

The President of the Hellenic Parliament also stressed that he met with Greek immigrants and the president of the Canadian Parliament, ministers and other important personalities to inform them of the path that Greece has traversed and invite them to come and invest in our country.

Manitoba Region Seeks Specialized Greek Employees

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greece-canadaManitoba is the first region in Canada seeking young migrants from South Europe, which is suffering from unemployment. Temporary and permanent employees from the labor market of Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain are those wanted to work in Manitoba.

This policy is part of the provincial project and this specific recruitment unit is going to make contacts with the communities of Greeks, Italians, Spanish and Portuguese, as reported in the governmental announcement.

The Manitoba Region is seeking 21 to 45-year-old individuals, specialized in industry, businesses, services, commerce and other specializations. About 250,000 employees are expected to be recruited by 2020 in Manitoba.

As far as Greece is concerned, the mission of young workers/migrants’ recruitment will be held in Athens on June 8-12, where Manitoba’s work recruitment group will conduct interviews with those interested to get a work permit in Canada.

For more information you can visit:

http://www.friendsofcanada.gr/events/154-2013-

13-Year-Old Greek Canadian Opens Store to Help Girls

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Linda and Susanna Manziaris during a recent trip to Kenya

Body Bijou founder, thirteen year old Linda Manziaris combined her passion for jewelry design and a desire to help vulnerable young women to create Body Bijou, an online jewelry store with a mission to make a difference.

Body Bijou donates 50 percent of net profits to GirlsHelpingGirls, a non-profit organization founded by Linda’s 16 year-old sister Susanna Manziaris, which is dedicated to educating vulnerable girls in the developing world.

Linda’s passion for jewelry design began at an early age, when she started creating original, hand made jewelry pieces for friends and family. Interest for her unique pieces spread, and Linda quickly found herself filling orders.

It was a love of fashion-forward jewelry combined with a desire to help underprivileged women that propelled the Manziaris sisters to put this socially conscious passion to good use.

“Our family took a volunteer trip to help build a school in Kenya recently, and it changed the way I think about education and the sacrifices that so many girls have to make just to get by,” said Linda.

“It made us realize how we took our own schooling and opportunities for granted and we knew that we could do something to help.”

And help, they did. Upon returning to Toronto from their trip, Linda and Susanna got their friends and family just as excited about this new venture and put plans into action.

“After experiencing first hand the challenges and struggles of these young girls we felt inspired to do what we could to help,” said Susanna.

“I learned that the low status of women is a problem that is consistent globally and that if you educate a girl, you educate a family and an entire community. The cycle of poverty can then begin to break.”

The jewelry pieces are all hand made in Canada and can be used to add finishing touches to your outfit, or to completely change your look. By purchasing Body Bijou pieces, you are supporting a company built by girls, for girls.

Body Bijou offers a wide selection of jewelry, in various sizes and colours and will suit a variety of styles and tastes – from the young to the young at heart. Visit www.bodybijou.com to place your order.

Watch a video about Body Bijou:


Greek Businessman Nick Mirkopoulos Passes Away

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Greek businessman Nick Mirkopoulos did not get the chance to realize his dreams as he suddenly passed away. His plans were to build one of the largest film and television studios in Greece.

The business world as well as Greece seems destitute after the sudden death of the “Mister Cinema,” as they used to call him in Canada. Nick Mirkopoulos’ origins were from Kastoria, Northern Greece. He left the country in 1967 to seek a better life in Canada. At first, he worked as an electrician-contractor in Canadian airports. Later, along with his brothers, he decided to build things that others wouldn’t even dare to imagine. Armed with persistence, toughness and a lot of hard work, they managed to achieve great things.

He had battled a terminal illness in recent months and traveled back to Greece on November 23 to be with his family in his home and birthplace in Kalohori, Kastoria.

Nick Mirkopoulos, as he became known in the business world, was the owner of the “Cine Space Film Studios Toronto” and the “Cine Space Chicago,” which is one of the biggest film, tv, and commercial production studios, cooperating with major Hollywood companies such as “Paramount Pictures,” “Fox,” “Walt Disney,” “Warner Bros” and many others. It is also worth mentioning that Forbes magazine has included the Mirkopoulos brothers on its list of greatest and most significant businessmen in Canada.

The family never forgot their Greek roots which motivated them to create a Music Department, a Cinema Department and a seat of Greek Studies at the University of Toronto and the York University.

Unfortunately, Nick Mirkopoulos suffered a heart attack and passed away before he had the chance to make his dream of building a studio in Greece come true. According to people close to him, Nick Mirkopoulos was expected to visit Greece early in 2014 in order to inspect the places where the studios would be established. Although Nick Mirkopoulos will not be able to complete his work, perhaps his family — knowing how much he wanted to help his country — will continue the project in his memory.

Denis Dimitrakopoulos: The Guru of the Parking Lot Business

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Greek expat Denis Dimitrakopoulos is the owner of the Metro Parking in London, Canada. He recently spoke to The London Free Press about his life and his success.

Mr. Dimitrakopoulos immigrated to Canada from Greece with his family 45 years ago with nothing but his bag. He didn’t even know how to speak English he said. However, within a few years, he started setting up a colossal business empire by simply selling parking-space.

The Greek-Canadian underlines that the parking lot business is a reliable way for someone to make profit, as parking space is something that is always needed.

“Nonetheless, that doesn’t grant you that you will become rich. You have to be a good manager and calculate every move. You can easily go bankrupt if you pick a bad location to set up a parking,” Dimitrakopoulos highlighted.

Mr. Dimitrakopoulos was born into farming family near the Greek city of Kalithea. When he was 12 years old, he moved to Athens. He had work experience in the newspaper business, in selling and delivery. When he was 19, he got a job as a bus driver and married his wife Soula. In 1969, the couple along with their young child Gus, decided to leave Greece to seek better luck in Toronto, Canada.

At first, things were tough as they were all alone in a new country, with no friends or relatives. In addition, they didn’t speak any English. Immigration officials helped them settle in Toronto and begin English lessons.

Dimitrakopoulos, before attaining his own business empire, worked for Lou Golan, a businessperson that was managing a parking lot near the busy corner of Bay and Bloor street.

Golan helped Dimitrakopoulos set up his first parking lot business by finding him some promising spots.

He ran several successful projects before he moved to London in 1994. Now he owns the Metro Parking in London with nine lots in the downtown core, a relatively small local competitor to North American giant Impark, with about 60 lots in the city.

He feels content with his choice to leave Greece back in 1969, as Greece suffers from a deep crisis from which few people can escape. He is very grateful for the opportunities that Canada gave him.

The couple also has a daughter, Pat, who was born in Canada but now lives in Greece with her husband.

Dimitrakopoulos and his wife travel frequently to Greece to visit their family, which has now extended to grandchildren and a great-grandchild

Greek-Canadian Among Canada’s Most Powerful Women

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Greek-Canadian engineer Catherine Karakatsanis has been included in National Posts’ list of the 100 most powerful women in Canada for the second consecutive year.

Karakatsanis is the former President and Chair of Engineers Canada and board member of Engineers without Border. She has been awarded the Engineering Medal of Management and was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Karakatsanis has had a successful 25-year career in senior roles at Morrison Hershfield, a multidisciplinary engineering company that was founded in 1946. Through her work, she has gained experience in the engineering and management sector. She currently serves as the company’s Chief Operating Officer and board member.

In 2012, she became responsible for the company’s international and domestic activities, while she also oversees employees at the company’s North America offices.

Karakatsanis studied for her bachelor and master’s degree at Ontario’s Western University.

The Top 100 Awards by the Women’s Executive Network celebrate Canada’s strong, fearless female leaders who have helped bring change and reshape Canadian organizations.

SkyGreece Authorized to Fly to Canada

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Skygreece_facebook1SkyGreece Airlines SA has announced that the Canadian Transport Agency (CTA) has given its permission to the airline company to schedule international flights between EU member-states and Canada.

“We are extremely happy with the CTA decision and it simply shows our determination to meet and surpass the requirements of the agency as well as the Canadian and Greek consumers,” said Nikolaos Alexandris, accountable manager and co-founder of SkyGreece Airlines SA.

SkyGreece Airlines SA is the only Greek transatlantic airline. The private company founded in October 2012 by a team of Greek-Canadian entrepreneurs with extensive backgrounds in aviation and tourism, is based in Athens, Greece, while there are offices located in Montreal, Toronto and New York.

The company’s main mission is to connect the Greek Diaspora to their homeland by offering non-stop flights between Greece and North America, with eventual plans to also offer flights to South Africa. Additionally, the airline’s aim is to offer “authentic Greek hospitality.”

Within the next few days, SkyGreece Airlines will make the necessary announcements regarding flight schedules.

14 Individuals Honored for Their Contribution to Canada-Greece Relations

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The Embassy of Canada to the Hellenic Republic.On the occasion of Canada Day on July 1, the Embassy of Canada honored 14 individuals who have made important contributions to Canada-Greece relations. Ambassador Robert Peck awarded “Maple Leaf Citations” and a special West Coast aboriginal (Haida) silver-plated ladle in a handcrafted red cedar box to each honoree drawn from the world of business, academics, education, the arts and the Canadian expatriate community.

The following people were honored from the business world:

George Ghonos
Managing Director, Greece & Balkans, McCain Hellas S.A.

Business pioneer and entrepreneur, George Ghonos, who brought McCain’s Hellas to Greece over 25 years ago and continues to innovate in the spirit of the company’s corporate motto “Be good, do good.”

Constantine Katsigiannis
President, Hellenic-Canadian Chamber of Commerce

For his commitment as both a lawyer and businessman in leading the Hellenic-Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Vassilis Sakellaris
President, TourGreece (Official Representative for Air Transat)

For his significant contribution to the development of tourism between Canada and Greece, and vision as operator of Tour Greece since 1979, which has the most important share of the Canadian travel market in Greece.

From the Academic and Education world:

Professor Mary Koutsoudaki
For her work as a co-founder of the Canadian Studies Centre at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2000 and for successfully introducing a Canadian comparative literature course for the first time in a Greek University.

Professor Michael Spourdalakis
For his work as a co-founder of the Canadian Studies Centre at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, commitment to the academic profession and ongoing contributions to developing academic ties between Greece and Canada.

Don Matthews; Chris McClinton; Ian Miller
As citizens of Canada and Greece, Miller, Matthews and McClinton, for their individual contributions in the field of secondary education at the Hellenic-American Educational Foundation -Athens College- and role as both teachers and mentors to a generation of future leaders in Greece.

From the cultural scene:

Georgia Iliopoulou
Managing Director, Lavris Productions

For being a champion of Canadian performing artists in Greece as owner and managing director of Lavris Productions.

Dimitris Eipides
Director, Thessaloniki Film Festival and Thessaloniki documentary Festival

For his contributions as a Greek-Canadian to the promotion and development of Greek cinema and his vision as founder of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.

David Rupp
Director, Canadian Institute in Greece

For his dynamic leadership as Director of the Canadian Institute in Greece since 2005 and contribution to the cause of Canadian archaeology in Greece.

Efthalia Constantinides
For her philanthropy, and that of her late husband Costa, in purchasing a permanent home for the Canadian Archaeological Institute (CAIA) in Greece and dedicated leadership as President of the Friends of the CAIA for many years.

Ion Vorres (posthumous)
In recognition of the vision of Ion Vorres, founder of the Vorres Museum, and his role in the establishment of the Canadian Archaeological Institute in Athens (CAIA) in 1976, and his multiple contributions to Canada-Greece cultural relations.

Finally, Kathryn Lukey-Coutsocostas was honored for her ongoing contributions to promote friendly relations between both the Canadian and expatriate community in Greece and Greek society, and the creation of both the Hellenic Canadian Friendship Association network in Thessaloniki and the Friends of Canada in Athens.

Three SkyGreece Flights Cancelled

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Skygreece_facebook1SkyGreece, an airline based in Greece, cancelled three of its flights from and to the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.

According to reporter Cindy Pom, the plane is parked at the Pearson airport because the company has not paid landing fees to the airport. She further alleges that she spoke to the president and one of the company’s co-owners, Ken Stathakis, who labeled rumors that the company is going bankrupt as “a bunch of BS.”

The airline faced a similar situation last week when SkyGreece flights from Toronto Pearson International Airport were continuously being delayed. As a result, people were left waiting for their flights in the airport for days. The company’s plane that was parked in Pearson airport ultimately flew on August 20, four days after it was originally scheduled.

SkyGreece was founded in 2012 by Greek-Canadians. Its fleet consists of two aircraft that transport passengers from and to Toronto from European destinations.

In response to a City News inquiry, Father Nicholas Alexandris, one of the company’s reported co-owners, directed the network to speak to the other co-owners. The network further reported that Alexandris apologized to a customer and informed them that he quit the company’s board two weeks ago.

Greek-Canadian Entrepreneur Nominated For Ontario 2015 Premier’s Awards

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Tony LourakisComplete Innovations co-founder and CEO Tony Lourakis is among the 116 nominees for the 2015 Premier’s Awards that will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, November 16, at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel in Ontario, Canada.

During this year’s ceremony, exceptional graduates from Ontario’s 24 colleges will be honored for their significant social and economic contribution in business, community services, creative arts and design, health sciences, recent graduate, and technology in Canada and throughout the world.

Seneca alumni Tony Lourakis is nominated for the prestigious technology Premier’s Award. Lourakis’ Complete Innovations, is one of the fastest growing global technology companies — occupying around 160 full-time employees — enables numerous customers across North America to track, optimize and manage vehicles and mobile workers from a single platform.

The young Greek-Canadian entrepreneur founded his first software and consulting company, Canlogic Solutions, at the age of 20, while enrolled as a Computer Science student at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology. He currently serves as Cretan Association of Toronto “Knossos” President and is also a board member of the Hellenic Heritage Foundation.


Greek-Canadian’s Villa in Mykonos Named ‘Top Private Pool Villa in Europe’

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Villa Hurmuses on Mykonos, Greece, has been named Top Private Pool Villa in Europe at the 2015 World Luxury Hotel Awards held in Hong Kong.

The five-bedroom villa is located on the island of Mykonos and is owned by Singapore-based Greek-Canadian Jeff Hurmuses and his Singaporean wife Sharon.

Close to a picturesque beach in the charming Mykonos town, the villa offers beautiful views of the island’s traditional white-washed villages, harbour windmills and famous sunset.

The five-star hospitality and luxurious property accommodates up to 10 people in five separate bedroom areas and offers all the amenities one can ever ask for, including a large private pool, bar and professionally-equipped kitchen.

See photos below:

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Transat A.T. to Sell French and Greek Tour Businesses

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Montreal-based company Transat A.T. Inc.,says that a German company has made a 54.5-million-worth euro offer to purchase its Transat France and Tourgreece tour businesses.

Transat France and Tourgreece tour businesses are worth about $80.3 million. Transat A.T. says it expects to seal the deal with TUI AG before the end of October as it’s pending various approvals.

Transat A.T. operates an integrated travel business which includes flights on its Air Transat airline and vacation packages in North America, Europe and other destinations. According to the Canadian Press, German TUI Group operates in 180 destinations around the world and employs 76,000 people in 130 countries, whereas Transat France and Athens-based Tourgreece combined have 800 employees.

Meet ‘Jimmy the Greek’ from Nafplio who build a Restaurant Empire in Canada

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Toula Antonopoulos (left) and her father Dimitrios ‘Jimmy’ Antonopoulos start the day at their Jimmy the Greek food court restaurant at First Canadian Place.

Dimitrios (Jimmy the Greek) Antonopoulos who build a Greek restaurant chain in Canada has been featured in an InsideToronto.com story.

Antonopoulos emigrated to Canada in 1963. As the youngest of six children born into a poor farming family in Nafplio, Greece, the now-78-year-old didn’t know a word of English. He had only a fourth grade education and little-to-no money to his name.

But, what he did have in spades, said daughter Toula, was “grit and foresight.”

“He had the vision and the belief in himself to make it happen,” she said of her father’s determination to build his Jimmy the Greek chain from the ground up — from a lone restaurant in downtown Toronto’s First Canadian Place to a thriving empire of quick-service restaurants.

InsideToronto.com says that when Antonopoulos first arrived in this country with his new bride, Helen, on his arm, the pair settled briefly in Montreal, where he worked making sandwiches at the local Woolworth’s cafeteria.

Upon the couple’s relocation to Toronto a few months later, he translated those new-found culinary skills first into work at a greasy spoon in Scarborough — where he learned to use a grill — and then at other local restaurants.

His first restaurant, the Epikourion, opened in 1979 at First Canadian Place. After a few slow years, the restaurant expanded — and by 1985, lunch-hour demand was so high that Antonopoulos was turning customers away because he simply couldn’t seat everyone in the small restaurant.

And that, Toula said, was when Jimmy the Greek was born. Today, Jimmy the Greek boasts 54 franchises across the country — including restaurants in Alberta, B.C. and Manitoba, as well as many in Toronto and the GTA.

Helen, with whom he would have celebrated 54 years of marriage this month, passed away in April — and without his “built-in best friend” at home in East York, he likes to keep busy.

Coming in to check on the business at First Canadian Place twice a week, Toula said, is what keeps her father going despite the devastating loss of Helen.

“Coming here is very therapeutic for him. They used to call him the mayor, because he was the longest tenant here and everyone knew who he was,” she laughed.

“He loves this building; he loves the people here; and most of all, he loves feeding them.”

Source: InsideToronto.com

Feta Cheese Exporters to Benefit from EU-Canada Trade Agreement

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Greek exporters of feta cheese will benefit from the CETA trade agreement between the EU and Canada for four reasons, the president of the Hellenic-Canadian Chamber of Commerce (HCCC) Konstantinos Katsigiannis said on Monday.

Katsigiannis was speaking at a conference organised by the Thessaloniki Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) and the Exporters Association of Northern Greece (SEVE), under the auspices of the Canadian Embassy.

Firstly, CETA prohibits the sale on the Canadian market any product labelled “Greek feta” or bearing any sign, symbol, image and name that refers to Greece, unless it is made in Greece.

Secondly, there will be a clear indication that these products have been produced in Canada and, thirdly, with the exception of the older feta producers, new producers will have to label their products “feta-type cheese” or “feta-imitation cheese”.

Lastly, Greek-made feta is high on the list of Canadians’ preferences, due to its excellent quality.

Dan Kelly, chairman of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) with a membership of 109,000 small and medium-sized businesses, pointed out that Canadian businessmen are now open to this agreement and hence to their cooperation with European companies, especially due to the uncertain future of the NAFTA trade agreement, following the statements made by US President Donald Trump about its revision and the likelihood of its dissolution.

President of SEVE, Dr Kyriakos Loufakis said that Greek exports to Canada reached 137 million euros, down 3 pct, on a year-on-year basis. However, he said that the prospects of further development of bialteral trade between the two countries are good.

Senior Trade Commissioner of the Canadian Embassy, David Mallette, spoke about CETA’s “multifariousness”, noting that in addition to the 99% elimination of both sides’ duties (94% for agricultural products), the agreement will bring about changes to the imports process, the development of bilateral relations in the service sectors – financial services, telecommunications – in shipping and more generally in all areas of trade, services and investment.

Source: AMNA

Transatlantic Friendship Leads to Unique Greek Herb Business

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Kiriaki Iordanou of Athens, Greece (left) and Ian Scott of Orangeville, Ontario (right)

Several years ago, Ian Scott of Orangeville, Ontario met Kiriaki Iordanou of Athens online and in September 2017 decided to take a much-needed vacation to Greece to meet in person.

At the time, Scott had no idea this recreational trip would also see the start of a new business venture.

Many people who had been to Greece had told him the food just tastes better there. It did not take Scott much time to realize that the reason for this could very well be due to the oregano which is found in almost all Greek dishes.

Greek Reporter contacted Ian who shared the beginning of his foray into Mediterranean cuisine:

“I discovered that true Greek oregano had a bold taste and aroma that I’ve never had with any oregano I’ve purchased in Canada,” Scott says.

“The oregano in Greece was so amazing that I brought back several kilos meant for personal use. But then I provided small samples to others who were curious and the reaction was nothing short of amazing.”

Originally, Scott’s trip was just to spend time with his friend in Athens. However, this journey was the first of several trips back and forth between Canada and Greece, as part of a business idea now known as KirIan oregano.

Kiriaki and Ian spent much time travelling through various parts of Greece trying to find the highest quality oregano and sampling many different producers’ best of 2017’s harvest.

“We managed to narrow down our favorite samples and then recruited Ms. Iordanou’s family and friends to blind taste and smell testing sessions to be certain that we’d import to Canada only the best we could find,” Ian tells Greek Reporter.

“Of course, it was a huge advantage as well to do business in Greece and to have the assistance and help of Greek-speaking friends,” Ian says. “None of the producers had much English, and none use email. I am so thankful to the entire Iordanou family for their support in this venture.”

Product launch

KirIan Greek Oregano was finally made available for sale in Canada after months of planning, research and package design.

“It’s been an exciting process,” Iordanou says while visiting Orangeville, Canada. “To be visiting this country during the time we are able to launch the product is wonderful!”

It is also important to mention that KirIan imported oregano has been officially lab analyzed by Greece’s Food Allergens Laboratory.

Although there are some who claim to be importing ‘wild’ oregano, it should be noted that harvesting wild herbs for commercial use is illegal in Greece. Consumers of such products are contributing to serious soil erosion problems and over-harvesting of wild mountain oregano.

“It was really important to us to ensure our product was the best available on the commercial market, and procured from producers who use only environmentally sustainable practices,” Ian says, adding:

“Our products will always be of the highest quality and produced in a way that does not damage the environment. In addition to the wonderful taste and aroma, it is also important to us to have a product that is pure. So many of the oregano brands available in stores have been proven to be adulterated with other non-oregano material.”

True Greek oregano (origanum vulgare hirtum) is also a different sub-species of oregano than most sold in North America. Much of the supply there comes from Turkey and some is actually common marjoram (not to be confused with sweet marjoram). Although members of the same family, these do not have the same bold flavor and aroma punch as origanum vulgare hirtum.

“I loved hearing the testimonials first-hand from those who have received our oregano samples while I have been visiting here,” Iordanou says. “Yes, the taste and aroma is the proof that oregano from my country can really add a big flavor hit to Canadian cuisine.”

“And now, Canadians can have the closest thing to a real Greek salad without having to visit Greece!

“We’ll have to work on that Canadian feta though,” Iordanou smiles.

KirIan Oregano is available online and will also be available through selected retailers.

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