09/01/2026
🥂 22 YEARS DOWN… Chapter 23, HERE WE GO! 🥂
Well, well, well…
I have officially completed 22 YEARS of owning the Plaza Restaurant and now heading into YEAR 23.
Which is especially funny if you remember that I said: “I’ll do this for 10 yrs.”😂😂😂
Clearly, I am terrible at sticking to a plan.
Either that, or restaurant ownership is some strange form of organized chaos that you somehow get emotionally attached to.
Over the last 22 years, I have survived staffing headaches, broken equipment, power outages, rising food costs, renovations, supplier issues, government paperwork, menu changes, endless phone calls, and more than a few moments of standing in the middle of the restaurant thinking:
“What the HELL am I doing?”
And then, of course, there were the really big ones…
A Recession, and a Global Pandemic.
Two things that knocked the wind out of a lot of businesses.
And somehow, we didn’t just survive them…
WE CRUSHED IT. 💪😂
We adapted. We changed. We figured things out as we went. We kept feeding people. We kept our heads up. And we kept the Plaza going.
There were definitely days where I had no idea what was coming next, but apparently stubbornness, sarcasm and a really good staff can get you through a lot.
And yet… here I am.
Still cooking. Still serving. Still solving problems. Still answering, “No, we actually don’t take reservations.” Still wondering how 10 years quietly turned into 22. 😂
But as much as I joke about the insanity of this business, I also know one very important thing: I did not do any of this alone.
I have been incredibly lucky to have so many amazing people beside me throughout this journey.
First and foremost, my parents Tom & Maria and my Uncle Christos — thank you for your love, support, guidance, patience, advice, encouragement and for teaching me so much about this business and about life. The Plaza would not be what it is today without the foundation you built, and I certainly would not be the restaurant owner I am today without everything you taught me.
I also want to acknowledge my former business partners, my brother Dimitri & Bonnie McCardle, who were an important part of different chapters of this journey. Every chapter, every challenge and every experience helped shape both the Plaza and me along the way.
My Brother Andreas, who came to my rescue when I was very sick and took care of the Business, while I recovered.
Then there is my best friend, Olive…
Who deserves some sort of honorary restaurant ownership certificate simply for listening to me rant, vent, cry, swear, overthink, complain and occasionally threaten to sell the place daily for the last 22 years. 😂
Olive, thank you for always answering the phone and helping with the dreaded paperwork. That alone deserves a medal.
And then there is my staff.
The restaurant industry is known for employees coming and going through a revolving door, and somehow I have been incredibly fortunate to have the complete opposite.
So many people have stayed with me for years and years — some practically from the very beginning — and that loyalty is something I will never take for granted.
There are far too many people to name everyone who has been part of these 22 years, but I have to give a special shout-out to a few people who have been such an important part of the Plaza story: Jason Liles, Barry Boyd, and Terry Kirchner
Thank you for the years, the loyalty, the laughs, the chaos, the problem-solving, the ridiculous stories and, most importantly, for sticking around when there were probably plenty of days you could have reasonably decided to run for the hills. 😂
And to every person who has ever worked beside me at the Plaza — whether you were here for one chapter or twenty, THANK YOU ❤️
You helped build this story too.
I have watched teenage employees grow into adults...(Starr, Antonie, Katelyne, Reese, Alex, Nelson, Erica, Jakob, Dom), build careers...(Stacey, Jordelle, Carson, Kiefer, Sadie, Sheldon, Hayden), get married...(Michelle, Erich, Sarah, Brad, Eric) have families..(Yiota, Anna, Dani, Brooklynn, Shawna, Laura) and sometimes still find their way back through those Plaza doors....(Dave, Cindy, Erin, George)
That is one of the parts of this business I am most proud of.
And of course, to our Plaza Guests .... THANK YOU
Thank you for supporting my family, supporting me, supporting my staff and continuing to walk through our doors year after year.
Some of you have been coming to the Plaza for generations.
You have celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, first dates, graduations, reunions and countless special moments inside these walls.
You have watched me grow up in this business…
Although after 22 years, I am still not entirely convinced I qualify as a grown-up. 😂
The Plaza has always been more than just a restaurant.
It is family. It is memories. It is tradition. It is laughter. It is chaos. It is a huge part of my life.
So here’s to 22 years completed and the beginning of Chapter 23.
My original 10-year plan may have gone completely off the rails…
…but apparently I’m still along for the ride.
From the bottom of my heart…
Thank you to everyone who has been part of it. OPA!!! 💙
