Here is an article from the Ct Post about the closing.
http://www.connpost.com/search//ci_4378823 Restaurateurs retire to just desserts
FRANK JULIANO
fjuliano@ctpost.com Article Launched:09/22/2006 04:43:00 AM EDT
Click photo to enlargeMickey Delales waves goodbye to one of his long time customers as he... (Brian A. Pounds/CT POST )«12»MILFORD — Hot dogs, cheeseburgers and chili are the quintessential American foods, and when the Kaklomanos family closed The Greek's restaurant for good Thursday afternoon, they had achieved the American dream.
The restaurant, which opened at 170 Cherry St. in 1982, fed generations of area residents, drawing them in with signature menu items and regular classic car shows.
"I came to this country in 1937 with $3 in my pocket," founding owner James Kaklomanos Sr. said, sitting in a booth at his eatery. "No other country will let someone raise and educate a family starting with $3.
"This is a great, beautiful country," the 86-year-old Greek immigrant said. A merchant marine in his native country, Kaklomanos said he jumped ship in Boston and looked for people who spoke Greek.
He found them in a restaurant, and after a stint in the U.S. Army at the end of World War II, he entered the business himself in 1947. The elder Kaklomanos, his brother and a partner bought Tomlinson's Hot Dogs on Boston Avenue in Bridgeport. The place quickly, and informally, became known as "The Greek's" and when his partner's children took over Tomlinson's 35 years later, Kaklomanos moved on to Milford.
"This place was known as Henry's Hamburgers, and my wife would come here at lunch time and count the cars to see how good business was," the owner said.
In time, his son, Jim Jr., and son-in-law, Mickey Delales, took over The Greek's. Dolores Delales, a teacher at Hillcrest Middle School in Trumbull for many years, said the women in the family weren't involved in the restaurant.
"The men didn't want us in here," she said.
"They were tough critics," her husband said with a smile.
Well-wishers came by in a steady stream Thursday to get their final chili cheese dogs. Carolyn Smith brought her daughter Alison Claffey for their last lunch at The Greek's.
"I don't think I'll be back when the new owners are here," Claffey said. "I came here all the time with my mother and now I bring my own daughter here. It's sad. I had tears in my eyes."
The family misted up too, thinking about the future. Their distant cousins Nick Vlastarias, Pete Filipidas and Themi Kolitsas will reopen the business in two weeks as "Goodies," and promise a more extensive menu, including the classic favorites.
And the Greeks? "We'll travel a little bit," Delales said. "I'm a Civil War buff. We'll also go to Greece and we want to spend more time with our four grandchildren."
Jim Kaklomanos Jr. said he'll continue his other business, Black Rock Laundromat and Dry Cleaners, on Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport.
"To tell you the truth, I'm tired of this place," he said. "I don't want to do it anymore."
Frank Juliano, Milford bureau chief, can be reached at 878-2130.
