Today we’d like to introduce you to George Varelas.
Thanks for sharing your story with us George. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in the restaurant business as a little kid. Everyone including my parents, uncles, aunts, cousins were in the business. Most owned their own, and they also worked for each other. I remember doing my homework in the kitchen while my family was working nights. I also remember cleaning carrots and potatoes. (Anything that didn’t involve using a knife or fire. I’ve always wanted to own my own business. Since I was young, I was detailing cars, selling flowers from my back yard to neighbors, shoveling snow for my neighborhood. Pretty much whatever it took to take care of myself. I went to college and got a job as an assistant property manager. I loved the job, it just wasn’t for me. I started up my old car detailing company and got some accounts, which branched my business into boat restoration and power washing. I landed some big accounts and jobs, but I didn’t see a long future in the business. I asked my uncle for some help and advice. He mentioned to open up a diner. (He’s owned and opened lots of restaurants, delis, diners, and even a brewery. At first, I thought the restaurant business wasn’t for me (growing up in it my whole life) but something inside me said that I know how to run that type of business, but this time I can do it my way. Give the customers something traditional but different. Funky and also comfort foods. But most importantly the best quality and quantity. And here I am today.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Very stressful business. Ups and downs. But you get through it. I take it day by day, and try not to dwell on the small things. Funding and getting off the business to take off was the hardest. I remember the first 3 months we were open I changed the menu 5 or 6 times. I had them printed on white plain paper. Customers were aggravated and didn’t like that idea. Then said it was unprofessional. But they didn’t understand I had to do what I had to do. I threw out my professional printed menus that investment went down the drain. But I had to find out what my customers actually wanted to eat. It was trial and error and eventually I found a menu that worked. 6 months later after posting pictures on social media we were contacts by the phantom gourmet and the diner took off. Sometimes you need to take risks, even if their wrong or you fail you can eliminate or add strategy. That’s what I did.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Iron Town Diner – what should we know?
We are a breakfast and lunch diner. Serving traditional breakfast and lunch sandwiches and dinners. We have daily homemade soups, dinners, and sandwiches to switch it up. Coming from a Greek family, we do have traditional Greek specials including homemade moussaka, baked lamb, spinach pie etc. We also have breakfast specials. Which are just creative funky plates. Including sushi roll and guacamole benedicts, cheese cake pancakes, Elvis waffle and more. I believe this is what sets us apart. You will never see the same foods on the menu every day. Every single morning we make different soups and dinners for the day. We also change up the breakfast specials week to week. We post all of our daily specials and pictures of our food on Facebook and Instagram. We have also been featured on phantom gourmet and wicked bites television show. I’m most proud of my staff. How well they treat our customers. We are a family owned business and treat everyone like family. Not because it’s good for business, it’s just because that’s who we are. Without our customers we wouldn’t be who we are. They teach us and mold us to do better and better every day.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Need to be able to take risks and be able to understand your customers and your employees. Put yourself in their shoes and imagine what they want or how they feel. It’s hard but you need to think outside the box and put yourself out there.
Contact Info:
- Address: 325 main street
saugus, Ma 01906 - Website: irontownsaugus.com
- Phone: 784-558-2070
- Email: irontowndiner@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irontowndiner/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IronTownDiner/
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